A Crimson Phoenix, a Dying Angel and the Darkness
by Tiger159
Summary: People are born with some sort of history or legacy behind their name. Watch as Naruto must hold up his father's name and somehow show everyone how strong he is without Kyuubi. YAOI/YURI/ETC. Might be re-written.
1. Witches, lessons, pink haired bitches

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

People are born with some sort of history or legacy behind their name. Watch as Naruto must hold up his father's name and somehow show everyone how strong he is without Kyuubi. YAOI/YURI/ETC. Yaoi means boy love or boy on boy, yuri means girl love or girl on girl: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

Do not flame without good reason.

**

* * *

**"This is so boring!" Naruto whined, as he walked down the hallway of an ancient looking house with his teammate.

"Oh shut up Naruto!" yelled Sakura, her green eyes filled with anger at the sight of her blond teammate. Just her luck to be stuck with this idiot. She sighed in annoyance, something she always did around him.

"This is suppose to be a C-rank mission right?" asked Naruto, swiping the sweat of his brow under the weight of the heavy boxes.

"That's what the Hokage said anyway" Sakura grumbled, carrying her own load of packages. She was a girl damn it! She wasn't supposed to do these types of of heavy lifting.

"Well maybe she was wrong! I mean cleaning out an old witch closet is like doing a another D-rank mission!" Now Naruto was getting on Sakura's last nerve, that was until she realized he was correct!

**'OMG! Is the world coming to an end?'** screamed inner Sakura in horror. Idiots like Naruto were not allowed their smart moments! It was against nature!

"Just shut up and get back to work!" screamed Sakura right next to his ear. She really needed to learn how to keep her temper in check.

"OUCH!" He screamed right back in her ear. "That hurt!" But he already knew that Sakura understood that, those were her intentions from the start, to cause him pain. He sighed, he was growing tired of this overused routine.

"JUST get back to work before I bust your head open!" screamed Sakura with a sharp glare. Kami, how he hated that look that just screamed ignorance and snobby. That look fitted Sakura just fine actually, it reflected her disgusting attitude. What a shame.

'Sometimes I even wonder what I saw in her...' thought Naruto with shame.

**"Well shes a dirty banshee, so just shut up and get back to her!"** said Kyuubi,the demon prisoner in his mind. Naruto rolled his eyes and grumbled harshly under his breath a couple of curse words.

_'Your actually agreeing with her?' _asked Naruto, his right eyebrow twitching in agitation_. _He couldn't believe this, even the overgrown piece of fluff that hated her guts from the get-co, was agreeing with that bitch, if only slightly. _  
_

**"...Maybe..."** Kyuubi answered back with an amused chuckle, knowing he was agitating the ninja. This was a fun day for him, seeing the gaki or brat fume with rage at the bubble gum hair girl, at the rest of his team, or embarrasses himself later on. Ha! What joy!

'_WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAYBE!'_ yelled Naruto, clearly annoyed. He knew this was the reaction that damn fox wanted to pull out of him, and he had fallen into that trap.

Seeing as the fox wasn't answering he decided to cut the connection off just in time to hear Sakura's annoying voice. Damn how he hated that bitch!

* * *

After getting hit in the head repeatedly, Naruto went back to cleaning with a massive headache. _'That's it! I hate that good for nothing bitch! I rather be paired with Sasuke then be with her good for nothing ass!'_ shouted Naruto in his head. He soon regretted it as his headache just got worse.

Naruto was just cleaning the attic closet just to get away from Sakura, who is somewhere else cleaning thanks to Kami, and he was just minding his own business when he saw this huge trunk that looked more like a treasure chest from his point of view. It had some kind of strange marking on it and he neared it with curious eyes and uncontrolled tan hands. Curiosity killed the cat as you know.

He tried to open the trunk but it wouldn't budge. I tried again but it still didn't budge. He tried once again with more force, the only difference was that something actually happened. The markings on the trunk glowed blue and the hood flew open!

Once he got over my state of shock he carefully walked over to the trunk. Naruto saw that the trunk contained some very old looking books along with a couple of old scrolls. Before he could put the trunk back in the closet an old lady stood behind his small figure. The old lady was wearing a black dress, she had warm brown eyes, silver hair, and this kind but powerful aura around her. All he could do was stare in shock at her.

"Oh I see you found my old books eh young man?" asked the old lady with a small smirk.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go through your stuff Ms..." He trailed off, trying to avoid the subject.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Honey nice to meet you," said the old lady now known as Honey. She smiled gently at him, but her curious gaze never left him.

"While hello Honey, my name is Uzumaki, Naruto!" Just because he grew up without parents, and was rude to other people didn't mean he had no manners.

"Would you like to see whats inside the books?" asked Honey with a kind smile that was visible on her wrinkled features.

"Is that alright?" asked a unsure Naruto, biting his bottom pink lip.

"Well of course!" answered Honey with another smile. _'She was a smile machine wasn't she?_' Naruto thought with an annoyed sigh.

Honey walked over to the trunk and told Naruto to close his eyes and to take any book out. Naruto did as he was told and he ended taking this strange looking book out. It was a large book that had a cover with a deep wine color, a skull shaped lock, rusty gold pages.

Naruto looked at Honey with curiosity and an unsure gaze. Honey just smiled at him softly, and took out a skull shaped key from a pocket inside her garments. She handed the key over to Naruto, and he took it and with fidgety fingers, he opened up the strange book with a** 'click'**.

When Naruto opened the book, dust flew all over the place and he started coughing. When he stopped coughing he saw that the book was written in a strange language that he was unable to understand. Honey then decided to explain to him that the strange language it was written in was actually a secret language passed down through her ancestors. Naruto was excited when Honey had told him to come to her anytime he wishes, so she could teach him everything she knew. She needed some kind of company, since she grew lonely, and she was bored and had nothing to spend her time on. Naruto was a solution to this problem, and he would be able to learn something new, for free. That is if he accepted the offer.

"No! I'm just probably going to waste your time. I'm not a fast learner and plus I'm just a dobe, but thanks anyway!" said Naruto with a forced smile that didn't reached his azure orbs. Ms. Honey frowned.

"Don't you dare ever think of yourself like that! I love to teach people who are willing to learn and use their knowledge for good, and I will not teach any one but you," declared Honey with a very serious look on her face.

Naruto still wasn't sure if to believe her words but he sighed and gave him. He got up and hugged her and he was pleasantly surprised when Honey hugged him back. He felt safe and loved, if only for a moment.

"I'll come as soon as my mission is over OK?" asked Naruto with a small smile.

Honey just grinned, she knew he would come back. They now had a deal and she had a feeling he would not back down on his word.

"Of course." said Honey with a huge smug smile on her face. She bent down and kissed his forehead, and hugged him even tighter. She treated him like a child, but that was okay with Naruto for now. He never got this type of love from a mother figure, because he never had one.

**

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**

Rewritten as of 6/24/10


	2. Get ready to say Daddy!

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK...Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but durning a AN I will be using my nickname.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

* * *

Naruto was too excited to even talk. His whole team had found that shocking and even queer. Sakura, feeling the most uncomfortable of all the members, decided to pop the question.

"Naruto, are you OK? You been acting funny ever since we came back from the mission."

"I'm alright Sakura," was Naruto's simple response, he did bother to smile at her but did not plan to bother her otherwise.

Now his team was really worried about him. He didn't even add the chan part to Sakura's name, much to everyone's shock . Sakura just brushed it off and starting complaining of how much of a pain it was to work with Naruto and how she broke her nail or about her clothes and hair being messed up. Kakashi and Sasuke just ignored her, they were far too used to this type of crap.

After everyone had said their goodbyes, Naruto ran toward Honey's house.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

After Naruto had arrived at Honey's house, he knocked on the oak wood door. The door opened to reveal the white haired witch with a tired gaze, but she wasn't alone. There was a younger person there with her. The girl looked to be around the age of 15 with her long hair was put up in a high ponytail and was the color of the silver moon. She was wearing a short black roman style dress that showed off a large amount of cleavage and hugged her curves. Her midnight black dress ended 5 inches above her pink knees. Her eyes were a pearl like eyes like Hinata's except they were completely white, and she was also wearing 3 inch high heels and her small feet. She gave him a blank stare, her eyes boring through him.

"Well welcome back Naruto-kun! I would like to introduce you to Maria, a good friend and my only niece!" announced Honey mentioning to the silver haired girl. Maria grunted and went back to the book in front of her, ignoring him.

"Naruto and Maria, I would like to introduce yourself to each other. I will go first."started Honey, and began saying something that sounded far too familiar to Naruto's keen ears.

"My name is Honey. I like a lot of things especially writing. I dislike selfish people. I have no dream and I have very few hobbies." she said with a smile on her face.

"Your turn silver" she pointed to Maria.

"My name is Mary better known as the goddess of the moon and hunting. I like hunting, reading, looking at the moon and many other things. I also dislike few things. My hobbies are hunting and my dream is to surpass my mother and become the best hunter in the world." Maria announced with a smug gaze, and her smirk bordered on dangerous. Naruto was in awe, if only a small part of him was. He looked at her with admiration in his eyes, but at the same time he hated the smug aura she gave off in waves. Honey turned over to him. "Now its your turn Blondie."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like to learn new Justus and making new friends. I dislike people who think highly of themselves, bitchy people and people who give up easily. My hobbies are training. My dream is to become the best ninja in the universe." announced Naruto, crossing his arms and looking down at the ground with a soft blush.

Maria raised her eyebrow at him, questioning his dream for a fraction of a minute before smiling. It was a small smile that you could barely see. The smile went unnoticed by Naruto but not by aunt Honey. She smirked at her.

"Today's lesson will be about learning about your family's history" announced Honey turning away from them to collect some needed books.

Naruto seemed to perk up when she said that.

**BACK TO SAKURA:**

"La la la!" yelled/singed Sakura. Sakura decided that she wanted to impress Sasuke with her singing. But all she managed to do was break all the windows in the village and her mothers glass rose which her first love gave to her when she was 16, the exact age when they went on their 3rd date. So when she saw her precious glass rose shatter before her eyes she snapped. In her rage filled vision, she had grabbed a near by belt, ran upstairs to Sakura's room and beat the shit out of her. It was not a good day for Sakura.

**SASUKE:**

_'I hate fangirls! Why can't they all just die?'_ thought Sasuke with a deep frown, he hated fan girls.

Sasuke was being chased by his fan club, just when he was about to perfect a jutsu he had been working on. Now because of these worthless girls, he was losing time on working on his training. They have been chasing him over the course of two hours. He ran to his house as fast as he could, and managed to lose his fan club before reaching his mansion, and making sure he set up traps to keep his fan club out.

Secretly a figure on top of a near by tree was smirking at Sasuke. He had witnesses the whole scene and found the pain of the young boy very amusing.

"Still as weak as always I see," he whispered, and with that the figure disappeared.

**NARUTO:**

Naruto was having trouble with the exercise. Honey said all you had to do was focus and say a spell. Mary had already perfected hers. Mary and Honey had both introduced him to Mary's mother who was also Honey's sister. Mary's mother is the goddess of hunting and wild animals Artemis was her seems that Honey was the goddess of spring.

While Honey and Artemis, Maria's mother talked, Maria walked over to Naruto..

"Need help?" she asked leaning over the book he was working on.

"Yeah" signed Naruto, almost ready to give up, and expecting the other girl to laugh at his futile attempts. She did not do as he expected, she was above that, after all.

"You just need to focus more. Just close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths and call on someone like your father or mother," explained Maria. "It helps if you know how they look like," she added as a last minute comment

"And if that doesn't work just meditate," she continued, trying to calm him down.

Naruto did as she said. He tried really hard to focus but he couldn't. So he tried meditating. It took him at least 10 minutes to finally focus. He finally saw a man dressed in white robes with red flames at the bottom. The man had blond spiky hair and deep blue eyes just like Naruto. The man just looked at Naruto before his blank stare turned into a smile.

"Hello son" the man greeted.

Naruto opened his eyes out of shock. But he still saw the same man standing in front of him.

"You did it Naruto!" shouted Honey. Artemis was watching Naruto with curious eyes while Maria just smiled in glee.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto, but he already knew part of the answer to his question.

"My name is Namikazi Minato also known as the 4th Hokage and...your father," the man now known as Minato said.

Naruto did something he thought he would never do. He fainted.

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R&R please!


	3. Punishments and Stupidness

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK...Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but durning a AN I will be using my nickname.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

* * *

_"Who are you?" asked Naruto, but he already knew part of the answer to his question._

_"My name is Namikazi Minato also known as the 4th Hokage and...your father," the man now known as Minato said._

_Naruto did something he thought he would never do. He fainted._

* * *

**The next day:**

(Naruto's point of view)

I groaned as I woke up from my not so peaceful sleep.

I think I heared a voice that I haven't heared in such a long time. I think I heared my mothers voice. I look around the empty room.

I yelled when I felt a arm brush aginst mine.

I see Honey come into the room panting. Next to her is Mary who seemed to be glaring at her.

Mary then looks at me after Honey stops panting.

"What the hell just touched me!" screamed Naruto.

Mary points behind me. She has a smirk plasted on her face.

"You mean him" she teased. It was more of a statement then it was a question.

I turned around to see...the fourth hokage!

"Don't you dare faint on us again!" shouted Mary.

I didn't. I was too shock to do so.

(Norama p.o.v)

"I'm so bored!" shouted Sakura.

Sasuke was so close to cutting her throat out if she said that one more time.

Kakashi was also thinking along the same lines.

"Has anyone seen Naruto?" he asked.

Training had started over 20 minutes ago and Naruto was late and he was never late.

"I think we should go look for him." said Kakashi.

So with that said they went to look for their teammate.

**(Naruto p.o.v)**

"What the fuck?" I said.

"Naruto this is your father Namikazi Minato, the fourth hokage as he had explained to you earlier before you fainted," Explained Honey, fanning herself with a piece of paper.

"Oh..." I said embarrassed.

"It's OK. I mean I will be scared too if I someone just came up to me and said I'm your father." said Minato with a smile.

"Naruto I want you take take the day off. Get to know your father better" said Honey, her serious gaze leaving no room for arguing.

"Alright..." said Naruto, still unsure if he wanted to leave with the nervous man in front of him. At the end, both he and Minato walked out of Honey's house.

* * *

**BACK TO TEAM SEVEN:**

Kakashi was getting worried, a concept that was strange even to him. He couldn't find Naruto any where and he frowned. He thought of Naruto like a son, though it was a secret. Not that anyone would ever find out but still...he felt like tearing something apart!

He was ready to kill both Sasuke and Sakura for not caring when he saw a flash of orange in the corner of his eye. He turned around to see Naruto and the...fourth? His dead sensei? Kakashi eyes almost popped out of their sockets. But then he gave his infamous eye smile when Naruto looked at him.

_'Now I get it'_ Kakashi thought.

_'He must have been at that witches house. And thanks to her he finally met his father'_ Kakashi was happy for Naruto, but he still wondered how the lad was handling the situation..

"Hey Kakashi!" yelled Naruto while running at him to give him a hug which Kakashi gladly returned.

"Dobe where you been?" asked Sasuke unaware of the figure behind Naruto.

"None of your business teme!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto answer the question! I mean because of you wasted Sasuke's good training time and plus...I BROKE A NAIL!" cried Sakura. Everyone just sweat dropped.

The figure that was behind Naruto sighed. Sasuke looked at the man and smirked.

"Naruto, drop the henge" stated Sasuke with a smirk trying to be a smart ass.

"What henge?" asked Naruto with a confused look, not understanding the question.

"Stop being a dumb ass. I'm talking about that men which is obviously a kage bushin designed to look like the 4th hokage," stated Sasuke.

Kakashi was ready to kill him, but held himself back. "Yeah! I mean he's the worst looking guy ever! I bet your parents were just as ugly and stupid! And plus grandma told me you are a demon! Your so stupid and weak! and-" Sakura was cut off by Naruto who was currently slapping her.

"SHUTUP! YOU KNOW SHIT ABOUT MY FAMILY YOU DUMB WHORE! I'M STRONGER THEN YOU WILL EVER BE! I'M NOT A DEMON BUT IF YOU WANNA SEE ONE I'LL SHOW YOU ONE! AND YOU ARE THE MOST UGLIEST PERSON I EVER MET! I NEVER LIKED YOU! I FELT SORRY FOR YOU SO I PRETENDED TO LIKE YOU CAUSE NO ONE ELSE DOES! YOU ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST BITCHES I EVER MET! YOU ALSO GOT SO SEX APPEAL. NO BOOBS, ASS, OR CURVES JUST A BIG ASS FOREHEAD AND NO BRAIN! ALSO ALL YOU EVER DO IS FIGHT OVER A GAY ASS EMO BITCH WHO HAS A STICK STUCK UP HIS ASS! AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION THAT IS THE FOURTH HOKAGE!" Yelled Naruto on the top of his lungs.

Everyone was stunned. Kakashi walked over to Naruto and hugged him.

"I think you should take the rest of the week off OK?" suggested Kakashi.

Naruto nodded his head, he was still trying to catch his breath. Kakashi turned over to Minato, then he bowed.

"Hello Minato." he greeted. Minato just nodded to his former student.

Kakashi then turned to Sakura and Sasuke and glared at them.

"The Hokage will be hearing about this." Kakashi's voice was ice cold.

"Oh and before I leave with Naruto and the former hokage I want you two to know that you two are only going to be doing d-rank missions for the next 5 years," smirked Kakashi with his signature U smile. Kakashi then took Naruto's hand and walked down the streets. Shouts of** 'The fourth is alive'** and** 'Kakashi is a demon lover'** soon covered the streets.

Needless to say Sasuke and Sakura were both pissed.

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Review...review...and review. NOW.


	4. Whining and teacher's pet

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK...Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but durning a AN I will be using my nickname.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

* * *

**_RECAP:_**

"Oh and before I leave with Naruto and the former hokage I want you two to know that you two are only going to be doing d-rank missions for the next 5 years," smirked Kakashi with his signature U smile. Kakashi then took Naruto's hand and walked down the streets. Shouts of** 'The fourth is alive'** and** 'Kakashi is a demon lover'** soon covered the streets.

Needless to say Sasuke and Sakura were both pissed.

* * *

Naruto was still having a hard time calming down. He even came to the point of quitting his team. Kakashi didn't seemed surprised. He said that he had all the right to do so. He wanted to talk to the Hokage about quitting being a teacher for a long time now but he only kept the job cause of Naruto.

"Come on Naruto, lets get some ramen" said Kakashi.

That seemed to make Naruto calm down.

After eating 60 bowls of ramen which Kakashi had to pay for, Naruto was back to his old cheerful self in no time.

"We should be heading off to the hokage tower right?" asked Minato.

"I almost forgot hehe," said Kakashi.

"Your hopeless," smirked Minato. Then let out a laugh. Minato's laugh was smooth and apparently loud.

And with that said they headed towards the Hokage tower.

**Sasuke:**

Sasuke was pissed! He was having a bad day. This morning he got attacked by his fan girls, tripped over his play toys (or also known as fuck toys) and had spent most of his time trying to find the 'dobe' instead of training. But the worst part was that he had to do D-rank missions with the pink blob for the next 5 years.

And now just when he thought his day couldn't get any worst he found his mansion destroyed and a note in a very familiar hand writing.

_This is for hurting my fox! _

_Next time you and the pink bitch do any thing to him I will kill you._

_-The crimson phoenix_

* * *

**Sakura:**

Mean while Sakura was giving both her grandfather and her father lap dances. It always disgusted her when she had to do this for money but she hated having sex with her father so she always asked when her grandfather was around.

"Come on dad only 2?" asked Sakura, quite annoyed at her payment.

"You have no ass and you can't dance your lucky that I even paid." stated her father.

Sakura ignored him and kissed her granddad on the cheek since he gave her 20.

She started to leave the room.

"Sakura I'll see you tonight" smirked her father before she could take another step.

She nodded. It might be her father that she was fucking but she loved the money and he gave great sex for an old man!

* * *

The 3rd hokage sighed. Naruto and Kakashi had just explained what happened...well mostly Naruto.

The hokage sighed again. He was getting too old for this shit. Sarutobi sent a AMBU guard to summon both Sakura and Sasuke.

As soon as they got there they felt killer intent rolling off from Kakashi, Minato and Naruto.

"Why are we here Hokage-sama?" asked Sakura like the stupid little girl she is.

"Sakura you know exactly why you're here. Kakashi has informed me of what happened during training. What you both said was uncalled for. I would remove Naruto from your team but that would take time. I also agree with Kakashi's punishment. No matter what team you get put on your only allowed to do D-rank missions. You are also to stay faraway from Naruto. Naruto would still be on your team but will not take training or missions with you, for now. You are not and I repeat are _not _going to be paid for any of your missions. You will also have a replacement teammate and sensei in a month. You are both dismissed." said Sarutobi with a monotone voice.

"But Hokage! That's not fair!" screeched Sakura.

"Yes that is. Now would you like me to take you both out of the active duty list forever in other words strip you of your ninja title?" asked Sarutobi with an evil glint in his eyes.

Sakura didn't say nothing after that but that didn't stop Sasuke.

"Hokage that is not fair. We have our rights too. You can't just do this to us without our part of the story?" said Sasuke.

"It is true you have rights as a ninja and as a villager but I'm the ruler of the village. The hokage to be exact. And if the counsel disagrees I could just kick them out one by one or over rule them. And it's true I didn't give you a chance to give me your side of the story so amuse me. Tell me your side. Tell me why you said what you did. Tell me _everything_." said the Hokage with an evil glint.

"We had to waste our training time looking for Naruto. We only wanted to know where he was but he wouldn't tell us so we tried to persue him. He eneded up screaming at us for no reason. Well mostly at me and Sasuke-kun." Sakura said. You could literally smell the bull shit coming off of her.

Sasuke did nothing to show his agreement. Sarutobi smirked again.

"Really now?" Sasuke and Sakura were starting to get nervous.

"You know I can see everything from my crystal ball right? Well I just so happened to see the whole thing. And just for lieing to my face you two are only going to do missions inside the village and you both ruined any chances of you ever doing any higher rank missions. Now as I said before you are dismissed so get out of my sight." explained Sarutobi.

"No you old men I will not leave til you lift the punishment!" shouted Sasuke. Naruto punched him in the face.

"I'm the only one who can call him that!" yelled Naruto.

"Naruto thats enough," said Kakashi with a frown and commanding tone.

"Like I said Sakura and Sasuke you are both dismissed." said Sarutobi with a cold bone chilling voice.

"We're not leaving" said Sasuke stubbornly.

Sarutobi summoned a AMBU and kicked Sakura and Sasuke out of his office. "Now...Naruto lets talk about your new living arrangements." said Sarutobi.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"I was planning to give you your father's mansion when you were older but I guess I have no choice. You will be moving into your father's mansion with Kakashi, your father and maybe Iruka if he agrees. The mansion is located outside of Kanoha in the forest. I will inform you of the village's statis and anythingelse you want to know." announced the current hokage(sarutobi)

"Oh...OK! Isn't that great Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded his head and gave him his eye smile. Minato just nodded with a small visible smile on his face.

"You can all leave now" said Sarutobi.

Sarutobi waved them off after he gave them the keys to the mansion and sent one of his 'special freinds' to show them where the mansion was located since Minato was still recovering from being brought back to life.

**10 minutes before:**

"Anko is that you?" asked Kakashi, an unsure gaze turned onto the snake mistress. Anko was wearing a black leather jacket, a black leather skirt, high heels, and fishnet stockings.

"You look...different..." said Kakashi not really sure of what to tell her.

"You look nice," commented Naruto with a smile. Anko just kept looking at the fourth...

"So let me get this straight... a witch taught you how to contact your dead ancestors something went wrong, or right, and you brought the 4th back to life?" asked Anko with a confused look. It was really a surprise cause no one ever saw her with that look.

"Yep! Now lets get moving," Naruto said, nodding to himself. Naruto then explained the whole entire story about him and Honey all over again. They were having a great time talking about what happened in the Hokage tower.

Little did they know they were being watched.

* * *

OK...I'm not too happy about this chapter and flame if you want.


	5. At the House

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK...Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but durning a AN I will be using my nickname.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

* * *

"Itachi where you been?" shouted a blond men.

"Deidara shut up" said Itachi.

"Oh come on tell me!" shouted Deidara.

20 minutes later:

"No Itachi please stop! Don't kill me! All I wanted to know was where you been not to destroy your room!" yelled Deidara with a very angry Uchiha chasing him.

* * *

Naruto looked at his new mansion.

The landscape was wonderful.

It was covered by all types of flowers and some he never seen before. It was covered by palm trees and Sakura trees and so many others!

It was like a dream come true to Naruto. You see Naruto loves the wildlife.

The mansion itself had a large golden gate covering itself from view. It had a door almost as large as the gates. The mansion was mostly covered in green vines that's why it was so hard to see the cream colored paint underneath them. The mansion was also being covered by a giant oak tree that was even larger then the house itself.

The mansion also had 2 windows hat covered most of the front of the house.

Naruto saw his father put his blood on the seal on the gate and the gates opened.

"Naruto" Minato addressed him.

"Welcome to your new home." Naruto smiled. It was nice to have someone that cares about you.

"It's good to be home."

* * *

When Naruto first entered the mansion the first thing he noticed were the murals on the wall. The murals were of mythological creatures. You know of dragons, unicorns, demons, goddesses and gods.

Naruto was in awe. If there's one thing he loves besides nature and animals its mythology.

Naruto was then led to a room. He guessed it was his new bedroom or something.

Minato opened the door to reveal a dark spicy orange colored room.

A king size bed covered by purple satin sheets was laying on top of pure cheery wood floor. On the ceiling was a fan in a shape of a golden leaf.

Red dragons surrounded the 4 leaf fan. Next to the beautiful bed was a floor lamp. The base was in the shape of a fox. Naruto noticed their was something behind his bed. It was a mural of a wolf on the wall. Yellow curtains covered 2 large french doors that led to a HUGE backyard. Another pair of yellow curtains covered a set of wide windows that gave a perfect view of the whole forest. He also found out he had 2 walk in closets mostly a 2 in 1 really. Naruto decided that he would have to paint something on the door that led to his room. On top of a girly looking wood dresser lay a pile of pictures and a pile of books.

Naruto walked over to so called dresser. It had pictures of a red headed women and Minato. The women had long red hair and brown eyes. She was smiling a fox like smile at the camera. She had a evil glint in her eyes. Naruto knew it spelled trouble for the person behind the camera. The women was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of damaged blue jeans. Naruto then noticed something he didn't notice before. She had a large stomach in other case he concluded she was pregnant. He didn't know how he missed it but he just did.

Minato, he noticed looked very young. Maybe 19 or 20.

His hair was shorter and he was wearing a t-shirt and like the women a pair of jeans only his was a dark blue in color and it wasn't damaged.

"The women in the picture is your mother Kushina Uzumaki. She died giving birth." Minato said sadly.

Naruto smiled a sad smile.

"She is very beautiful." He stated.

"You remind me of her."

"How so?" Naruto asked.

"Your attitude mostly. She was a loud mouth knuckle headed ninja and a tomboy. She also had the ability to overcome any problem and befriend anyone. And I do mean anyone" said Minato.

Naruto smiled sadly.

_'Rest in peace mom'_ he thought/prayed.

"Dinner will be ready by 7pm alright?" asked Minato after a while.

"Alright dad." he finally said.

Minato felt so much pride when he said that. And with that he left.

"Wow!" said Naruto as he saw the table full of food.

The table was full of different kinds of fish, meat and seafood.

"OK lets dig in!"

* * *

After dinner Naruto decided to take a shower. A _long_ shower.

After about an hour he came out of the shower with nothing but a towel on.

He went over to the dresser and took out some clothes. He soon was wearing orange silk pj's with scarlet Adidas™ sandals.

Naruto slowly walked over to his new bed. "Too much food," he muttered while holding his aching stomach.

He fell on the bed with a loud thud. He crawled under the sheets. He knew he should have listened to his father when he said not to eat too much but noooooooo he just had to ignore him

"Hm, nice soft bed." Naruto moaned.

* * *

**The next day:**

"Wake up Naruto. It's time for training."

Naruto groaned.

"Wat time is it?" came his muffled voice.

"5am. Now hurry up and get dressed."

**10 minutes later:**

Naruto came down the twin stair case wearing black shinobi pants, combat boots, and a wife beater.

"Dad where are my weapons and clothing?" asked Naruto.

"I burned your clothing and threw away your weapons since they were in extremely bad shape," stated Minato like it was no big deal. Naruto jaw hit the floor.

"YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!" he yelled.

_'Yep! Just like his mother'_ thought Minato.

"I was too lazy."

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"RUN YOU IDIOT!" and that's how Minato learned not to mes with his son stuff ever again.

* * *

So sue me it's short! Anyway I'm a aunt again! My sis water broke for those that don't understand it like this boy I know, it means she's having a baby.


	6. My evil day

**NARUTO THE ADVENTURER**

_"Dad where are my weapons and clothing?" asked Naruto._

_"I burned your clothing and threw away your weapons since they were in extremely bad shape." stated Minato like it was no big deal. Naruto jaw hit the floor._

_"YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!!" he yelled._

_'Yep! Just like his mother' thought Minato._

_"I was too lazy."_

_"Dad?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"RUN YOU IDIOT!" and that's how Minato learned not to mess with his son stuff ever again_.

* * *

"Naruto." said a soft yet stern voice.

"Anko? What are you doing here?" asked Naruto as he turned around.

"Your dad told me to help you get some new equipment since he was to busy to do so." said Anko while yawning.

"Let me guess, he still in the hospital?" asked Naruto while raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Now come on brat I ain't got all day."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"WOW!" said Naruto as he entered a weapon and clothing store called _"Charms"_.

Anko raised an eyebrow at him but just rolled her eyes.

"K kid, buy what you need then we can go eat." announced Anko.

"Whatever." said Naruto as he pounced of to one of the shelves that contained many colorful books.

After about an hour and a beating here and there from Anko for taking so long, Naruto was finally done shopping. Or so he thought.

"I swear you act just like a girl but then again...you do look like one" said as she snickered(?).

"I'M NOT A GIRL!!" he yelled.

"Whatever. You got all that you need?" Anko asked annoyed.

"No, not really. All I need now is clothes."

Anko groaned.

"You better be paying for my dango. And if not then well...I guess I have to tell everyone about _your past life and your current double life_." Anko whispered the last part into his ear.

Naruto gulped. He didn't want the village to find out about his other life.

"How you found out?" Naruto asked nervous.

"I got my sources." smirked Anko.

Naruto growled.

"Fine" he muttered angrily.

After about 30 more minutes and a 1000 comments about looking so fuck able, Naruto got his clothes.

"You really have no shame." said Naruto to Anko.

"Nope! None at all! Now I want my dongo, you you better have lots of money on you."

Naruto groaned. He was gonna kill his dad. He was also gonna be broke by the end of the day. Their goes 5 years of missions.

* * *

"Come on Naruto! I want to introduce you to someone!" shouted Anko.

Naruto sighed.

"Who is it this time?" he asked Anko.

"Naruto I want you to meet Yuuhi Kurenai, my best friend. She's a master at genjutsus and is the leader of team 8." said Anko proudly.

Naruto looked at this so called Kurenai.

She had beautiful pale skin and mind blowing red eyes. (We all know how she looks like)

She was wearing a shinobi black vest on top of a red short sleeved shirt and some shinobi pants and sandels.

"Nice to meet you" said Naruto as he bowed his head to show his respect.

"So Anko. This the boy you been talking about?" asked Kurenai.

"Yep." Was the only answer Anko gave.

Kurenai put her hands on her knees so she could a better look at him.

After a good 5 minutes she said:

"You look more like a girl then you do a boy."

This just caused Naruto's eye to twitch.

Anko just broke out laughing.

"Anyway Kurenai here, will be teaching you gen jutsus," said Anko with a evil smirk.

"I'am?" asked Kurenai as he raised an eyebrow at her friends statement.

"Yes, you are, unless you want the whole village to know your dirty little secret." said Anko, the smirk never fading as she tried her best to look innocent.

Kurenai looked nervous for a minute.

"Fine," she muttered as she sent a glare towards Anko.

_'This day just gets weirder and weirder'_was the last thought Naruto had before he was dragged off again by Anko.

* * *

"SWEET HOME!! I MISSED YOU" yelled Naruto as soon as he stepped into his home.

"Home so soon son?" asked Minato stepping out of the kitchen covered in flour.

"So your finally back from the hospital? and why are you covered in flour?" asked Naruto as he took off his shoes.

"Yeah I'm back from the hospital. I only have at least 2 broken ribs and a leg injury. And I'm baking cookies." explained Minato.

"You? Baking?" asked Naruto between laughs.

"You'll be surprised what your old men could do. I mean your mother couldn't cook for nothing, so I had to cook and bake for the rest of us." said Minato walking back into the kitchen.

"So what's for dinner dad?"

"Dumplings, grilled shrimp, rice, oven spiced chicken and for dessert cookies and to drink water." shouted Minato from the kitchen.

Naruto could just smell the food from the kitchen and it smelt good!

Naruto decided to take a gimpse to see if his father actually cooked it.

And he was met with a sight he necer wanted to see.

"Um , dad." said Naruto with a grossed out face.

"Yes son?" asked Minato as he pried over his shoulder to look at his son.

"Your fly undone" was Naruto's only responce as he walked the other way.

"WHA?!"

* * *

OK...hope you like it...I had writers block while writing this so this is what I managed to get out of it...please review! I'm on my kness!!


	7. Foxes, Hokages, and coco kisses

**NARUTO THE ADVENTURER**

* * *

**Be Good To You**

**Be Yourself Truthfully  
Accept Yourself Gracefully  
Value Yourself Joyfully  
Forgive Yourself Completely  
Treat Yourself Generously  
Balance Yourself Harmoniously  
Bless Yourself Abundantly  
Trust Yourself Confidently  
Love Yourself Wholeheartedly  
Empower Yourself Prayerfully  
Give Of Yourself Enthusiastically  
Express Yourself Radiantly  
****  
Author Unknown**

* * *

Tiger: I'm so glad my shot at humor actually worked!!

Naruto: People were just feeling sorry for you

Tiger: Shut up or no ramen for a month!

Naruto: No!! That's the only thing I can't live without!!

Itachi: -comes out of nowhere and encircles Naruto's waist with his arms-

Itachi: Really koi? The only thing?

Naruto: Y-yes and I'm not your koi!

Itachi: It looks like I just have to change that now won't I?

Naruto is then dragged away by Itachi but not before saying: Tiger-chan does not own me or any characters but the ones she made up.

Tiger-chan: I'm very disappointed in you people! You didn't figure out who the Crimson phoenix was! I'll tell you in this chapter. It's in the beginning.

* * *

_"SWEET HOME!! I MISSED YOU" yelled Naruto as soon as he stepped into his home._

_"Home so soon son?" asked Minato stepping out of the kitchen covered in flour._

_"So your finally back from the hospital? and why are you covered in flour?" asked Naruto as he took off his shoes._

_"Yeah I'm back from the hospital. I only have at least 2 broken ribs and a leg injury. And I'm baking cookies." explained Minato._

_"You? Baking?" asked Naruto between laughs._

_"You'll be surprised what your old men could do. I mean your mother couldn't cook for nothing, so I had to cook and bake for the rest of us." said Minato walking back into the kitchen._

_"So what's for dinner dad?"_

_"Dumplings, grilled shrimp, rice, oven spiced chicken and for dessert cookies and to drink water." shouted Minato from the kitchen._

_Naruto could just smell the food from the kitchen and it smelt good!_

_Naruto decided to take a glimpse to see if his father actually cooked it._

_And he was met with a sight he never wanted to see._

_"Um , dad." said Naruto with a grossed out face._

_"Yes son?" asked Minato as he pried over his shoulder to look at his son._

_"Your fly undone" was Naruto's only response as he walked the other way._

_"WHA?!"_

* * *

That night the _'Crimson Phoenix'_ decided to visit our sweet little fox.

"So soft" came the silky voice of the 'Crimson Phoenix' as he ran his pale hand through the blond's hair.

"I wonder if those lips feel as soft as they look" said the man as he leaned down to kiss his little angel.

But just before his lips could reach that heavenly mouth, the angel a woke.

"Wh-who are you?" Naruto stuttered.

Seeing the men only 1 inch away from his face startled Naruto. He pushed the men as hard as he could and sat up in his bed making sure to stay away from the men as the men walked closer to him.

"My name's Itachi Uchiha otherwise known as the Crimson Phoenix"

Naruto looked the men over. He was kind of sexy. He had beautiful pale skin that glowed in the dark and in the rays of the full moon. His lips were a pale pink color and his eyes were a wine red with 1 scar under each eye.

"What do you want Itachi?" asked Naruto.

"You" was all Itachi said before he kissed Naruto on the mouth hard.

Naruto tried to fight him but he wasn't strong enough. Soon enough he started to melt into the kiss and what surprised him was that he was actually kissing back!

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" he moaned.

Itachi finally broke apart for air but after getting a few lung full he went down for another kiss.

Only this one had more passion. Itachi explored every bump, corner and tooth of that delicious mouth of his kitsune.

_'He tastes of chocolate and strawberries. An intoxicating combination.' _Thought Itachi.

After 5 full lusty minutes they broke for air. Naruto finally came back to his senses and pushed Itachi back. Naruto looked around when he didn't hear any movement from Itachi. So called man was no where to be found. Little did Naruto know was that Itachi was hiding with in the shadows and still in his room watching over him.

* * *

**Morning:**

When morning came Naruto was still weirded out about last night.

He really wanted to feel those lips on his again. To smell that sweet scent that was Itachi.

Naruto had already accepted that he was bisexual a very _long_time ago. Since he was 9 actually. A very early age indeed. But Naruto is a smart boy no matter what anyone says.

Now back to the subject at hand. Naruto bit his lip as he remembered the kiss he shared with Itachi.

Naruto shook his head to erase those thoughts. But it was all in vain. Itachi was just too much of a good kisser to forget.

_'Don't think about that anymore. I got work to do and I don't ned to get distracted.' _Thought Naruto as he got ready for another day.

--

"Hey dad," said Naruto as he descended the stairs.

"While hello my son! So how did you sleep?" asked Minato with a beautiful smile.

"It was...good, I guess," answered Naruto with a blush as he sat down for break feast.

"Dad you know you would make a great wife," teased Naruto as he eyed the chocolate chip pancakes, milk, eggs and bacon.

"Maybe, I guess. Maybe I should get married to another man or...have a sex change." smirked Minato as his son paled.

"NO! I WAS JUST KIDING FATHER!" shouted Naruto causing Minato to laugh.

"Well just eat your food; we got training to do." said Minato while they silently ate.

--

"Naruto, to start the day off we will both do 100 laps around the village, 100 push ups and crunches and 100 pull ups." stated Minato to his son.

"I hate you." Commented Naruto before he started on the laps.

"I love you too son," chimed Minato as he too set off to started on his laps.

**_4 painful hours later:_**

"I hate my life," said Naruto breathless as he forced his sore legs to move. Minato who was behind him wasn't doing any better.

"It's been a while since I last exercised like that," muttered Minato in pain.

_'Yo Kyuubi, you up?'_asked Naruto mentally to Kyuubi.

**'What you want brat?'** asked the demon lord.

_'Why did you attack the village?'_

**'I'll tell you when we get home. Now until then let me sleep!'**growled Kyuubi.

_'Well someone is grumpy.'_

**'Shut up!****I just didn't get enough sleep that's all'** complained the fox.

_'I'll talk to you later.' _Just then Naruto slammed into something.

"OUCH!!" He screamed in pain.

"...You alright...Naruto?" asked Minato trying to hold in his laugh but failed.

"HA HA HA!" The sound of Minato's laugh sounded through out the village. Making villagers stop in their tracks and listen to the beautiful sound.

Naruto glared at his father and then looked at what he hit his head with. A tree... he got knocked down by a tree?

"Why didn't you warn me you old hag?!" yelled Naruto to his breath taking father.

"I did but you were too deep in thought to hear. And don't call me old hag! I'm a male and I'm only 21!" Minato yelled back.

"What ever." Muttered Naruto as he rubbed his now sore ass.

"Alright Naruto. Since I'm going to be your new teacher we will need to make some changes." Informed Minato with that matter-of-fact voice of his.

"Like what?" asked Naruto annoyed.

"Like your diet and your schedule. I'm also going to have to ask the old man to give you other sensei's as well, since I'm not good in every area."

"Like who? and if I do agree to change my diet what are the changes?" asked Naruto as he saw their house come into view.

"Hmmm, maybe Gai. He can help you with your taijutsu. Or...Kurenai. She knows almost everything about genjutsus." Shrugged Minato.

"As for your diet...your going to have to eat more fruits and veggies and all the other stuff."

"Damn!" muttered Naruto as he entered the doors to the mansion while his father followed.

--

**"Minato. Minato. Wake up you idiot!"** shouted a strong commanding voice.

"Huh?" said Minato still half asleep as he forced himself up.

But what he saw was what shocked him. Right in front of him was a sex god. He had flaming silky red hair, pale skin, long strong arms, beautiful lean muscles. And not to mention enchanting yet unearthly red eyes that he immediately feel in love with. But wat really caught his eyes were actually the man's orange ears and 9 orange tails.

Kyuubi smirked.

**"Well we need to talk."** said Kyuubi in a silky deep voice. Minato was suddenly caught in a trance.

"About what?" he asked still in the the demon's trance.

**"Naruto"**

* * *

I have writers block...AGAIN! So this is what I could make out of it. I know it's boring but thats all I can do right now. TT I'm sad now..so make me happy with reviews and tell me something that will improve my writing!!


	8. The Beast unleased

**NARUTO THE ADVENTURER**

* * *

Tiger: I have decided to not turn either boys into a girl. And I also want to say something else.

Itachi: What?

Tiger: THANK YOU HMMYAOI!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for taking the time to beta my story! I love you!!!!!

Itachi: Are you done?

Tiger: No, I also will like to thank my readers for supporting my stories, and for reviewing!

Itachi: Done now?

Tiger: Yeah

Disclaimer: Tiger does not own anything of Naruto, and does not make money over it.

* * *

It was a bright, hot, sunny morning in Konoha and mostly everyone was inside their house trying to cool off while the ninjas were either out on missions or training. The air was still as the silence grew ever more stronger. But unknown to the world this was about to change _very_ soon.

"Hey dad!" shouted Naruto who was wearing red silk pants with a black sash and combat boots with a red silk shirt and a black scarf around his tan neck.

"Good morning kido," greeted Minato as he saw his son desend the stairs of their mansion.

"What are we gonna do today dad?" asked Naruto excited.

"Sorry son, but I have to go meet with the Hokage later on, and then from there I have to go talk to the old goats. I swear the council is going to get a ear full from me," Minato grunted as he finally looked at his son. Once he saw Naruto's face fall from disappointment he felt his heart break.

He could never tell his angel son no. At least not without truely meaning it.

"But I can take you out for ramen when I'm done or maybe teach you a super cool jutsu!" Minato added quickly trying to make his son happy.

That did the trick.

Naruto's face lifted with a truely beautiful smile, "Really dad? That would be cool! What kind of jutsu will you teach me?!"

"That kiddo is a secret!" exclaimed Minato while putting a finger to his lips and winking a eye at his son.

"Okay..." Naruto grunted in response.

They chatted everynow and then as Naruto popped joints and checked for soreness of any kind. It was peaceful to the two just to be able to talk, to not worry about their day at all. But everything must end.

Waving goodbye Naruto walked out of the mansion and began his day.

--

"Minato." Came the annoyed voice of the current hokage.

"Yes hime?" asked Minato with a knowing smirk.

"What you are asking me, is practically impossible."

"And why is that mom?" frowned Minato. 'Mom' was the nickname Minato gave Tsunade when he was younger so he with held his nickname for her even when he had his own kid. Because of this though Naruto now called her grandma which the blond thought hilarious.

"Because the council will do everything in their power to make sure that Naruto's life is total hell." Sighed the slug sannin.

"I think they already did that," hissed Minato with venom lacing his every word.

The well known medic sighed once again. She really needed some sake after this. "I'll see what I can do." It was not a promise but what could she do?

"That's all I wanted," said the blond while a breath taking smile broke across his face. Minato had always known he would get his way after all. He always had a way with words after all...

But if the sannin couldn't make those old goats do what he wants then Minato knew he would have no problem convincing them. But he also knew it wasn't going to be easy.  
Anything that was related to Naruto was never easy.

--

"Hmmmm, what to do? Maybe I can go train, or.. Oh I know! I can go visit Honey!" said Naruto as he ran to the old witch's house. As Naruto ran, people glared and shouted at him.

The glares were filled with venom and blood lust, while the words... let's just say it was enough to make a person want to die.

--

As soon as Naruto reached Honey's ancient looking home he knocked on the door. Barely a second later Honey was at the door, smiling her prized heart melting one that the blond loved so much.

"Hello Naruto-san. How are you today?" she asked Naruto as she let him in her warm home.

"I'm doing good Honey. You?" Naruto asked back as he spotted Honey's granddaughter, Maria(3) and another girl at the dinning table talking.

"Sup?" greeted Maria. Naruto just smiled and nodded in response, then turned his attention to the red head.

Her hair was a spicy red that went pretty well with her golden skin. Her eyes were a endless ebony and her lips were nice and full. Her nails were like a sharp knife, closer to claws really. She was wearing a scarlet shirt with dark blue tight jeans and black combat boots.

"Naruto this is my girl friend Natalie. She's from another hidden village called 'The Dream Village' " said Maria whiled chewing some blueberry flavored gum. Maria was wearing a black shirt, a black belt, bleached jeans and silver high heels that made her legs look a lot longer than they were.

Naruto just looked at her dumb founded for two reasons.

_1. Maria was most likely going out with Natalie. Not that this was bad just unexpected.  
_

_2. Where was this village that Natalie came from?  
_

"It's new," confirmed Natalie as if she could read his mind.

"Ah -he composed himself- Hello Natalie," he finally greeted the beautiful red head.

"So Naru, I heard you are demon container... Is that true?" asked Natalie with a smirk.

"Yeah..." said Naruto not liking where the conversation was heading.

"Well I'm a container myself. I contain the 7 tail wolf that I like to call 'Chi Chi!'" Natalie exclaimed with so much happiness that she would had made Gai look normal.

"Well I contain the 9 tail demon Kyuubi no Kitsune also known as the over sized fur-ball," said Naruto right back with a raised eyebrow at her behavior.

"You mean Kyuu? Oh tell him Chi Chi said hey and that he still owns him money!" shouted Natalie with a hearty laugh.

_'And people think I'm weird...'_ thought Naruto sweat dropping at the scene, but he smiled back at her anyway.

--

(Naruto p.o.v)  
After spending the last five hours at Honey's house, I decided to get my ass back to my own house. I mean my dad's home... Anyway why do I always attract the weird people?! I swear Natalie is kind of... well more unique then anyone I ever met to put it nicely. But I guess I like her. Oh no...here comes the teme.

"Dobe," the king of idiots greeted with his usual smirk.

"Sasuke," I greeted back in an unusually calm voice since I was not in the mood for his little games. Talking and training with Natalie takes a lot of energy.

I mentally smirked as I saw the look of shock on the idiots face. "Dobe, let's train," he stated as if he was my mother. That reminds me, I need to have a talk with my father about her soon.

"Nah, not today Uchiha, I have more _important_ business to attend to." I said, putting emphasis on 'important', and passed him. I could literally smell his anger rolling off him in waves.

It's kind of funny if you ask me.

"What business do you have that's more important then fighting me!? The last Uchiha!?" he growled at me.

Yes it was very funny...

"Technically your not the last Uchiha, and second it's none of your business," I said as I quickly disappeared out of sight and happen to reappear inside my mansion.  
Away from the burning eyes of the village, and the cock sucking bastard.(1)

--

"DADDY!" I yelled as soon as I opened the door. But there was no response; unless you count silence as a response. I sighed once again as I walked around the empty mansion quiet clearly alone.

"I wonder where he went," I asked myself. Then I saw a shadow in the corner of my sapphire eye; a shadow with red tinted eyes more specifically. Eyes that I knew very well from last night. I held back a growl, as he stood before me.

At this point I was in the middle of the living room and he was only a couple of inches away from my tan face.

"Greetings Naruto-kun," he greeted me with a nod. I just glared at him in return. Why is that bastard talking to me?!

"Why are you here?" I asked him, not even bothering to hide my dislike for him.

"Why Naruto? Did you miss me?" asked the raven haired sex god in a deep husky voice. I suddenly felt a shiver go up and down my spine. Damn him and his sexiness!

I growled deeply as I felt my eyes turn red. He just raised his perfectly arched eyebrow and then...  
It happened.

--

"Minato..." started a white haired woman with a utterly horrified face. Minato in return just gave her a cold smile. A smile that he only gave his enemies.

"Yes?" He answered with a monotone voice. "Is it really you?" she asked while still in shock.

"We'll of course Nana. How could you forget about me? Especially since you were one of the few that plotted against me?" Minato growled at her. Oh yeah Minato was pissed. But why?

When she looked at him her eyes widened with shock.

"Oh and did you think I wasn't going to find out how you treated my son Naruto? Huh Nana? How this village dubbed him as a demon? Well guess what you are ALL going to pay for how you bitches treated him." Mianto growled while his eyes turned a darker shade of blue, a dark aura surrounding him.

Minato was going to make sure the village payed for what they did.

"Minato. Calm down." Calmly stated Tsuande with a commanding voice. Almost on command Minato calmed down, and he offered her a smile.

"I am here to discuss some issues about my son. And that's the ONLY reason I'm here. Do I here myself clear?" He hissed as the council memebers all nodded in fear.

"Now let's begin, shall we?" smirked Tsuande as a evil glint made it's way into her warm brown eyes.

Those old goats really were in deep water.

--

**(Naruto's p.o.v.)**

Itachi steeped towards me, as I laid on the floor. Why did I not sense that bastard?

"Stop right there Itachi! I WILL KILL YOU!" Sasuke yelled as he ran towards his brother with a kunai. Does he really expect to kill his brother with that little toy?

I groaned as I tried to lift my body off the floor, but I just ended up falling back down on the floor, hurting my body even further. Damn it! When I get up that teme is going down. I growled deep in my throat as I felt a orange aura surround my entire body. I screamed in pain; my body felt like it was burning at 1 million degrees, and than having my insides explode unstop. It truly was painful. I felt tears spill from my eyes, but when they hit the ground they were red as Itachi's eyes. It was blood. But it smelled sweet. Too sweet as I suddenly had the urge for the blood.

I wanted it...

I heard Sasuke and Itachi stop whatever they were doing just to look at me. At this point I felt something attaching itself to my back bone, and than I felt something on top of my head. I reached to my head than looked behind me at the same time. I was shocked to both see, and feel two fluffy things. Attached to my back bone was two orange tails with white tips while on top of my mop of blond hair were two fluffy fox ears. They were orange with white tips, and were very sensitive if I might add.

I growled deep in my voice and glared back at Sasuke. I don't know why, but I had the feeling that he needed to go NOW. I slowly crawled my way towards him but he did nothing but stare at me. Itachi just stood to the side looking at me up and down. I ended up having to fight back a blush.  
As I growled once again I pouncing at Sasuke. This was about to get bloody.

--

Tsunade looked over the small council room that contained all the council members. All of which were currently glaring at her. She smirked at them as she spoke.

"So it's final, Naruto Uzumaki will now be known as Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, and has access to everything that belongs to both his father, and his deceased mother Kushina Uzumaki. And when his father Minato is not present he will be known as the Namikaze clan leader."

A pink lady stood up in outrage. "No! You can not let this thing bring shame to the Namikaze name! Besides," she smirked slightly, "the fourth is dead."

"Silence!" Came a growl from the shadows. Cold blue eyes stared back at the now shocked council. "You will not talk about my son like that ever again, or I will kill you personally. And I am not dead you pink thing, as you can see I'm standing here talking to you in the flesh." Minato snorted at her.

Danzo, who was amongst the council, stood up from his chair. "Minato Namikaze, if we grant you what you want what will you do for us?" He asked smirking, but what surprised him was that Minato smirked right back at him. And an evil one at that.

"As of now everyone in this council who spilled secrets of the village is to be executed, that's the only thing Danzo that this crappy council will get out of it. For the decision is not up to you but to the daimyo. Who has already approved it I might add. Also most of you will be stripped of your ranks, especially those who made orders to kill my son behind the daimyo and Tsunade's back. Also the anbu who were in charge of taking care of him will be stripped of their ranks, unless they actually did their job."

Tsunade laughed at Danzo when he turned pale.

"But Danzo I want to make a deal with you, but later of course." Minato said his eyes taking an evil glint. Danzo suddenly started sweating. He knew he was in BIG trouble.

"You are all dismissed. Tomorrow Naruto will come in, and tell him which of the ANBU's were doing their jobs, and who weren't. Have a nice day." Tsunade chirped, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

And with that the council left, some relived, but most of them were angry.

--

* * *

(1) Sorry but I couldn't let the chance go by. BTW if I offended anyone in anyway with that comment then I'm sorry!! I don't mean to offend people with ANY of my stories.

2. I left some holes in the story on purpose cause it's fun! I like to keep my readers wondering what hapened. What happened in this chapter will be explained in the next few chapters.

3. Mary name has been chaged to Maria.


	9. The Beast 2

NARUTO THE ADVENTURER

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Tiger: If I do not get plenty of reviews I will turn Itachi into a girl for the rest of the story, and Naruto will end up being with another character.

Disclaimer: No own Naruto = no make money from it.

Naruto: P.S please remember that she is not very good with fighting scenes. Oh and THIS IS YAOI!!!!!

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"Truth resides in every human  
heart, and one has to search for  
it there, and to be guided by  
truth as one sees it.  
But no one has a right to coerce  
others to act according to  
his own view of truth. "  
~ _Edmund Burke (1729 to 1797)_

--

RECAP:

_"As of now everyone in this council who spilled secrets of the village is to be executed, that's the only thing Danzo that this crappy council will get out of it. For the decision is not up to you but to the daimyo. Who has already approved it I might add. Also most of you will be stripped of your ranks, especially those who made orders to kill my son behind the daimyo and Tsunade's back. Also the anbu who were in charge of taking care of him will be stripped of their ranks, unless they actually did their job."_

_Tsunade laughed at Danzo when he turned pale._

_"But Danzo I want to make a deal with you, but later of course." Minato said his eyes taking an evil glint. Danzo suddenly started sweating. He knew he was in BIG trouble._

_"You are all dismissed. Tomorrow Naruto will come in, and tell him which of the ANBU's were doing their jobs, and who weren't. Have a nice day." Tsunade chirped, her voice dripping with sarcasm._

_And with that the council left, some relived, but most of them were angry._

--

**CHAPTER 9:**

As I saw the blood on the floor I was suddenly hit by a guilty feeling. I had almost killed Sasuke Uchiha, my rival. If it wasn't for Itachi stopping our fight I would have surely killed him. My stomach churned as the memories slowly came back to me.

_After I pounced on that teme he finally got his ass into gear. He did a clumsy back flip as I tried to punch him in the chest, I missed but only by an inch. As my fist connected with the floor he took this opportunity to stab my arm. He got what he wanted but it was a stupid move. I growled as my claws, and yes I did say claws, scraped at his face leaving a nasty scratch that was gushing with blood and was slowly turning purple. I smirked as I knew it would leave one hell of a nasty scar when it healed. I quickly brought the claws to my mouth and licked them dry of the blood that belonged to one of the people who didn't see me as a demon. _

_Sasuke glared at me hard as he finally noticed that I damaged his oh so perfect pale skin. I glared right back at him with as much venom as I could. I quickly, yet effectively, kicked his legs from underneath him and started to choke him until he started throwing up blood. But once I noticed what was happening I jumped off Sasuke and got into a stance. If I was going to kill him it would have to be in a different way. I will not choke anyone to death, because it is not my ninja way. _

_Seeing this Sasuke got up at once, got into his own stance and jumped forward with a kunai in his hand. He chose the wrong weapon. I side stepped him, and hit him on the ribs, causing the sounds of broken ribs to echo in the mansion. I smiled like a maniac when I heard that sound, and slowly yet painfully scarped his back causing more blood to spill on the hard wood floors, and I silently moaned as the smell hit my sensitive tan nose. Sasuke tried to bite back a pain filled scream as my claws digged deeper into his skin, and I was ready to punch my whole arm through his back until I was stopped by a hand, a hand that belonged to Itachi. _

_Itachi whispered in my ear in a low husky voice " I will have to ask you to stop now my little kitsune, and I will be taking my brother with me since I will need him in the future. I thank you for the show." I felt a shudder make its way up my spine, as he took his now unconscious brother away from me, and left but not before giving me a chaste yet passionate kiss.  
I didn't notice but I left out a extremely loud moan, that even the dead could have heard even if they were 6 feet under the ground. I opened my eyes but he was already gone._

I growled as the guilt dissolved and was replaced with anger. The bastard kissed me again! But soon my anger turned into pain as the added appendages painfully went away, only it hurt twice as much then it did when I first got them. The red chakra surrounded me as I fell onto the blooded floor, and into my mind scape.

**Minato p.o.v  
**

I smirked as I watched Danzo squirm beneath my icy glare. After the meeting I called Danzo to meet with me later on during the day. I had plans for him, very BIG plans.

"So Danzo, as I have been informed you have taken many lengths to rid the village of my son. I already know the reasons why, and I should kill you on the spot just for that. But instead I will have pity on your ill hearted soul and make a deal with you." I spoke slowly so he could digest the information quicker.

Danzo stopped squirming when he heard the word 'deal.' I smirked knowing I now had his full attention.

"Danzo even if I would love to get rid of your back stabbing ass; I must admit that getting rid of you would be a huge mistake. You have many powerful contacts, and you control ROOT, and not to mention you know Konoha better than me."

"Go on...." he said with a sneer.

"So you have two options. You can either join me or you can be executed like those other bitches," I stated as calmly as possible, but I was smirking inwardly cause I knew I had already won.

"If I were to join you, what would I get in return?" He asked with an emotionless voice.

"You would live to see another day, and other benefits that I have yet to tell." I said as coldly as possible. I was here to make a deal, and he HAS to understand who the boss really was.

"I'll think about it....." whispered Danzo as he mentally made a pro and con list.

Minato suddenly stood up. "Well you better hurry cause if I don't get an answer in the next two minutes you ARE going to be executed by me." And with that Minato took his leave and waited impatiently outside a steel door.

-------

**MINDSCAPE (NARUTO P.O.V.)**

The air was filled with the smell of rusty pipes and the sound of rushing water that tasted like rotten food. I suddenly felt water fill both my mouth and nose, which in turn caused me to stand up from my laying position on the floor covered with 5 feet deep of water. I coughed up the water that managed to make its way inside my body. After struggling to get up and walking for a good 5 minutes I came face to face with a metal door that had a seal on it.

I rolled my eyes and with a swift move of my arm the seal was broken.

"NARUTO" Said the harsh voice, growling at it's container.

"Hello fox," Naruto greeted with a blank face.

"There is something I must inform you of,"Kyuubi stated with a smirk, his eyes turning a deeper shade of red.

"Oh does it have to do with the fact THAT I JUST TURNED INTO A DEMON AND ATTACKED MY RIVAL!" Naruto yelled, and animal like growl escaped his tan throat.

"You don't even know half of it kit."

"What do you mean you over sized fur ball?" Naruto asked as he glared at the puffball of doom.

"I'll show you,"and with that Naruto and the fox disappeared before reappearing in a different world.


	10. Desent To Hell

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel**

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**Tiger: This is yaoi. It is practically an AU. REVIEW DAMN IT! NO FLAMES!**

Disclaimer: Is the original owner smart? NO. Are their too many fillers? Yes. Is the show now mainly about Sasuke? Yes. SO NO I DO NOT OWN OR MAKE CASH FROM IT!!!!

VOTE AT POLLS!!!! CHECK IT MONTHLY. 

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His skin felt raw and cold. And the demon fox was the one to blame for that. The fuzzball had taken him to _the _demon world. Naruto swore as he glared at the demon fox, who was smirking. VERY ANNOYING!

Naruto growled as he asked a question. "WHY THE HELL ARE WE HERE YOU FUCKING IDIOT!?"

Kyuubi stared coldly at the child before looking ahead. Naruto sighed and looked ahead to where the fur ball was looking. His jaw dropped at the sight.

His eyes met with a sky as red as the blood flowing through his veins, and it contained 7 golden suns. The clouds in the sky seemed to look like a never ending mist that barely hid the suns. The landscape was a mystery. Black, blue, and blood red roses were scattered all over the place, the places that weren't were covered in bright green grass or in dirt. The tress were large and seemed like sky scrapers, most seemed full of live with bright green leaves and dark brown trunks, but those that were dead; the trunks of the tree were a dull brown almost a grey color, and the leaves were a sickly pale green. There were even some dead roses scattered around the ground with wilting petals that were the color of aged cement.

"Wonderfully amazing..." He silently whispered, the demon smirked as he heard those words about his homeland.

"Glad you like it kit. Now let's get down to business brat"

---------------------------

"What is your decision?" asked a glaring blond man with a smirk that would even put Orichimaru to shame.

"I...agree to join you, but you must follow these conditions-" Danzo was interrupted by a harsh voice that sent shivers down his back.

"**NO!** You are not in control here _Danzo_" Minato hissed, "**YOU WILL FOLLOW MY RULES OR YOU WILL DIE AT MY HANDS**...If you even as _say_ or _do _the wrong thing I will kill you on the spot. So you better be on your guard because at any moment **I WILL KILL YOU**." Minato was pissed off. He was sick of the old brute, and he had to know his place unless something unfortunate was going to happen to him.

Danzo gulped but glared at the 4th hokage. He wasn't going to let that brat have all the power without some protest.

"Now listen here _Namikaze_. You will respect your elders, and follow my conditions. I AM THE ONE THAT CONTROLS ROOTS!" Danzo started before he started cowering.

"**NO! ROOTS IS BEING DISBANDED BY MY ORDER**. Each and everyone of them, and if I find out your still hosting 'Ne', even after I told you not to...lets just say you won't have any _legs to walk on anymore_." Minato hissed out, his eyes containing a maniac like twinkle, and his hands were fist-ed so tightly that he was dripping blood.

**"NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" **He growled, his venom filled voice containing a promised death if not followed. Danzo quickly walked out of the room, almost stumbling on the way out, since Minatowas giving him killer intent fueled death threats.

**Back to Naruto:**

"First off, for the past few weeks I have been doing small experiments on your body. As a result your body itself has been altered. Your mind can progress information quicker, your senses are more sharper and not to mention you can now...access my powers better." The puffball from doom started off.

"AND WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU PERMISSION FOR THAT?!" Shouted an irritable blond. He was grateful at the fox for those changes but that didn't give him permission for messing with his body!

"Like I was saying..." Kyuubi growled out.

"You now have better access to my powers, meaning that you have unstop access to my chakra, but this time it will have no negative affects on you, and it will not shorten your life span like it was doing before. However as you may know, you can only control 1 type of chakra at a time. If you tried to control your normal chakra with mine, you would or could die. But with the right training and chakra control you could be able to do that. Something you might NOT know is that when you are doing a jutsu you are using 10x the amount of chakra needed, and the rest of the unneeded chakrais going to waste, with some chakra control training you will be able to get rid of that problem, but you would have to do those exercises daily since you have TOO MUCH chakra.

You will have to work 6x the amount you are already working to get to the level you need to be. I'm sure your father will help train you in the areas needed. Especially since I spoke to him about that last night. And you must have concluded that when you use the clone jutsus, everything the clones learn get sent back to its creator. I have brought you here to also inform and train you in the ways of a proper demon, since like I told you earlier you now have full access to my demon chakra. If not handled correctly you will die. I wouldn't really care if it wasn't for the fact that if you die, than I die. You need to inform your father of how bad your taijutsu SUCKS. He might be able to find a professional to train you in that area. And do us a favor, forget all that bullshit crap those crack heads at the academy taught ya. Those things they taught you WILL kill you in the real world. This village really needs better teachers.

Anyways, I will take it upon myself to train you during the time you sleep. And whatever happens here will affect you in the real world. So if you get your arm burned or broken here, than you will both feel and see a broken/burned arm, in real life. We will start your training tomorrow night, or whenever you are asleep. I must warn you, I WILL NOT GO EASY ON YOU." Kyuubi fiercely growled at him.

Naruto just sat there on the grassy open field before grinning like a fox.

"OK sensei!" He shouted with glee. Kyuubi smirked. The kit didn't know what kind of hell he just put himself in.

**A MONTH LATER:**

He was pissed off. Here was Sakura yelling at him for hurting the teme in a fight. Secondly, he was fucking hungry! He woke up so late that he only had time to brush his teeth and put on some clothes before heading off to meet the team. Thirdly, he has a headache from all that yakking in his eardrum which he felt would burst at any moment. But he kept control of his temper just like his father taught him. Over the past few weeks, he had bettered his taijutsu and chakra control but they were still not perfect or excellent. His ability to stalk and track had improved greatly. His attitude had also improved. He no longer was brash and loud...unless it was outside of ninja related activities. He had destroyed his mask of stupidity and cheerfulness. He now was a better strategy maker as well.

"Hey Sakura can you do me a favor?" asked the blond slyly.

"What?" growled the flat chested girl.

"Shut the **FUCK **up," he answered, his face seemed happy, but his voice was laced withpromised death. Sakura gaped at him, while Sasuke who was standing there the whole time, raised an eyebrow at the other ninja. But before either ninja could question the blond, their sensei popped up.

"YO!" He greeted them with a wave of his pale hand.

"YOUR LATE!" shouted Sakura, her hands went straight to her sharp hips, and her eyebrows set in a frown.

"Hello sensei, how are you this fine morning?" asked Naruto with politeness. Kakashi smiled brightly at his student. "I am well Naruto-kun. How about you?" he asked back, putting his orange book away. "HELLO!!!! THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE HERE YOU KNOW!" shouted the banshee. But everyone chose to ignore her snobby outburst.

"I am not doing so well this morning. I am hungry and my ears hurt." Naruto answered before looking pointy at Sakura. Said bitch glared at him with dull green eyes, and a nasty looking sneer.

"This morning we have no training. Naruto if you like we can go for a bite to eat," and with that Kakashi started walking off before Naruto decided to get off his lazy arse and run after him.

Sakura kept glaring at the pair before they were gone from her sight. Her face suddenly turned into a sweet smile and she looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, would you like to go out with me?" she asked him, hoping that he would answer her yes. But she got no response at all. She looked at the spot where the boy once was, and cursed herself.

By the time afternoon struck it was raining. Minato had found his only son sitting by the window with a sad expression. Worried he asked his son "Are you alright?" Naruto just sighed and said, "The gods are crying." Minato looked at his son and smiled. His son was wearing black sweat pants, wooden sandals, and a red t-shirt. "And why do you think they are crying Naruto?" he asked taking a seat next to him. Minato closely observed his son while fixing his blue shirt. "They must had lost someone," he calmly answered, his eyes taking on a purple hue.

"Naruto...tonight we are leaving Konoha on a mission. The people going are you, Kakashi, Team 7, Iruka, Anko, and me. It is a C-rank mission. The mission requires to escort someone of high status; at the moment we are not sure if it's of royal blood or not. We must protect them at all costs. The pay is high and will be divided equally between each member if successful."

Narutolooked at his father with a fox like smile. Minato suddenly had a feeling that Naruto shouldn't come or something bad would happen. He didn't know how right he was.

When morning came the sky was covered in smoke. The village was burning to ashes, and the villagers were burning in the very hell they had created. That was what Naruto dreamed of, before his father rudely woke him up from his tent. Last night they had packed up their bags and met up withthe requested people at midnight. They were supposed to meet up with the person they were supposed to protect 4 miles later. They were only able to walk 2 miles before Sakura started complaining about her feet and about her needed beauty sleep. Narutosnorted at this. As if sleep could actually help her with her ugliness.

As soon as Minato had woken up at the struck of 5am, he decided to make it his job to wake everyone else up; they had lost too much time already. First he woke up his son, who seemed to be having a pleasant dream by the look on his face, next he woke up Kakashi, Anko, Sasuke, and Sakura. The latter was screeching because she was only able to get 4 hours of sleep. Minato glared at the girl. "Sakura was it?" he asked her, a smile placed on his face. Sakura smiled and nodded her head like a bobble head figure. "I advise you to shut up. If you were never serious about being a ninja, there is still enough time to get back to the village, on your own. Do not waste our time with your violent screams or any other stupid shit you usually pull."

Sakura along with everyone at the campsite was surprised at his words. "I...I am serious about being a ninja." she whispered softly. Her expression a mix of sadness and determination.

"Then show it!" Minato growled. Mentally smirking that he had tricked the bubble gum haired hair into saying what he wanted.

"I'll try my best sir!"

"You won't try; you will show it!" he said smirking. Sakura simply nodded. Naruto let a small smile slip on his face. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

-----------

The 2 mile walk was filled with silence. As they walked further to their needed location, the ground seemed to turn into a dull gray. The sky slowly darkened and hid the overly bright sun. Soon tear drops started falling from the sky, covering the shinobi in clear liquid. As they ran, trying to escape the rain, hidden shadows that could barly be felt, watched them with anger filled glances. Their mind running with hateful thoughts and a twisted plan. A plan that would cause the 5 countries to unite, whether the criminals knew it or not.

-----------

The group had arrived in a large size village by the time the clock struck 8am. They were soaked to the bone and their skin looked like fire. They were itchy, cold, wet, and partly sick. But none dared to complain, that would show weakness and their incapability's as a ninja. Which they were supposed to hide at all times and at all cause.

The village consisted of chakra fused trees, grassy grounds, dozens of houses; all the same size and material. The shinobi knew they had no time for rest, so they went to a tower located in the center of the village. This tower was responsible for missions, promoted shinobi, and other things concerning politics and so on. They quickly entered. Too bad they didn't know this was the start to their descent to the devil's den.

* * *

FINALLY AN UPDATE!! REVIEW!!! MY STATE TEST IS TOMORROW...IT'S A 2 DAY TEST SO PLZ WISH ME LUCK!! AND SOOOOOOOOO SORRY 4 THE LATE UPDATE!!! BTW MY BDAY PASSED!! AND NO U CAN NOT KNOW MY AGE! LOLZ.


	11. When Insanity Takes Over

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel (Might change....again)**

**Author: Tiger aka D-Nyce**

**I DO NOT OWN**

**D-Nyce: **OK....Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora** ( it's Japanese version). My name is still Tiger159 but it will be changed to **D-NYCE** when I'm doing AN.

On another note, these are the results from the poll of the person that should be escorted. That poll is now closed.

Number of unique voters: 10. Multi-Select, limit of how many selections per voter: 2. Key: First comes the option followed by the percentage of votes per option.

TIGER 24%

BLOODY RED (ROSE) 20%

ANOTHER OC 20%

SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER SHOW 20%

SOMEONE FROM THE NARUTO SHOW 13%

**TORA YUKI WINS (TIGER YUKI) WITH A WHOPPING 24%!!!!!!!**

**Two new characters are about to be introduced but they are NOT staying long...Only for this chapter. **

**Warning for this story: Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, ETC. **

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Recap:

_The group had arrived in a large size village by the time the clock struck 8am. They were soaked to the bone and their skin looked like fire. They were itchy, cold, wet, and partly sick. But none dared to complain, that would show weakness and their incapability's as a ninja. Which they were supposed to hide at all times and at all cause._

_The village consisted of chakra fused trees, grassy grounds, dozens of houses; all the same size and material. The shinobi knew they had no time for rest, so they went to a tower located in the center of the village. This tower was responsible for missions, promoted shinobi, and other things concerning politics and so on. They quickly entered. Too bad they didn't know this was the start to their descent to the devil's den._

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The inside of the tower's wall was thick and made out of peeling red painted bricks; metal doors and volts were either hidden or shown near the back of the building. In the front were two oak desks with wooden chairs, sitting behind these desks were two young women.

The 18 year old kimono wearing beauty had a strong fit figure with albino skin, honey colored eyes, and chocolate colored hair. Her hair was shoulder length and was in a loose ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a deep blue kimono with a white sash, dark blue knee high leather boots, and a sword, which could be seen on her left hip. The name on her name tag read Jasmin Ushina Una..

The next lady in line was a 20 year or so women. Her skin was pinkish, her eyes were a soft hazel, and her hair was white, like clouds on a lazy day. The outfit she wore consisted of a white loose dress held together by a large black buckled belt. Her feet were covered by black heels, the dress had prints of blue flowers at the bottom, and the nametag she wore read Luann William.

Kakashi quickly walked up to Luann's desk, since she looked less busy. The sound of nearing footsteps was what caused Luann to look up from her work. She rose an eyebrow in his direction once he was fully standing in front of her.

"May I help you?" she asked him. Her voice professional and slightly annoyed. Kakashi's answer to her question was a simple nod.

"We are here to pick up the person we're to escort," he stated referring to the other shinobis with him and their missing escort. Luann gave him and the group a once over before opening a drawer filled with over stuffed color coded files, and loose paper.. After a few seconds of searching, she took out a file, and quickly read it over. She looked up at Kakashi, her eyes showed both happiness and slight malice.

"I'm sorry, but the person you are to escort is not here. She called in earlier stating that she must attend a meeting in another village. She said she'll get here as soon as she can," she informed them, a slight bitterness crawled it's way into her husky voice. Kakashi chose to ignore her tone, but he kept his guard up.

"But your welcome to board here for a while until she gets here. I heard she said she would get here in at least two days tops. We'll even let you stay free on such short notice!" Jasmin pipped in, her voice cheerful but their was an undertone of something that Kakashi couldn't put his finger on.

"Thank you," Kakashi said, but he had a feeling that they were not safe here at all. He was not the only one thinking that at the moment..

Luann lead them to their rooms, located in the very back of the building, and on the highest floor. Everyone felt lucky enough to get they're own rooms. The rooms which were small but spacious and durable enough.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days came and went, yet there was no sign of the person they were waiting for.. Thanks to Jasmin Una and Luann William at the front desk, they now knew it was their mission to escort a female of some kind of important status.

The youngest blond of the group looked out his bedroom window. His deep blue eyes scanned over the thick leafy trees, over all the gray rocks, and through all the green grassy fields. Naruto shivered as he felt the icy wind caress his tan skin. He quickly closed the small window of his bedrom and got off his smely full size bed.

He looked at the bare gray walls and suddenly felt like a prisoner. For some reason he didn't feel safe at all. Not when he felt that the walls and cement flooring was closing in, or when all he kept thinking of was if the chipping ceiling caved in.

He felt slightly woozy from skipping dinner last night, but he still managed to reach the barred cement door that was his escape from the room. When he opened the door, he was only met with bitter silence and freezing air. He knew it was early, but he had expected at least some kind of movement or noise in this busy town and building.. He walked through the empty stony hallways, passing locked doors, overgrown plants, and bazaar paintings. He didn't know where he was going but he just let his feet lead the way.

A small shiver worked its way up and down his spine as he passed an open window, the wind chilling his body. He thought he saw two figures near a tree, but he shook it off, thinking it was his tired insane mind playing tricks on him. He continued walking until he reached a pair of stair cases. Just like everything in the tower, it looked as if it was about to crumble down. Yet the staircase felt sturdy and new as he walked down the steps with a cautious mind.

Naruto felt like something big was coming, but he didn't know when or where it was going to happen. He felt slightly worried because he didn't want to lose any of his loved ones. But he pushed that tought aside and continued making his way down the long spiral stair way.

He kept on walking down the stairs until he reached the 5th floor. Once again, the hallway was quiet. Nothing moved or made a sound, and that unnerved him even more. His breath started to quicken as he walked through the empty hallways. The only sound that he heard was the echo of his light footsteps. Every now and then he thought he heard another pair of footsteps join him, but he chose to ignore them. He knew that if someone was following him they would have to show themselves sooner or later, and when they did... he'll be ready with a very nasty trick.

His steps became quicker as he skillfully took out a crystal ball shaped jar filled with black ink. Next he took out a brush. It was made from a dying bamboo stem and strands of silk. He dipped the brush into the jar until the strands of silk turned the color of coal. He stopped in his tracks and crouched down to the grey tiled floor. He drew a quick seal in the shape of the yen and yang sign; afterward he bit his index finger and dripped exactly 3 drops of blood onto the seal. Once the seal was done, he walked around it, smirking at what was to come. If anyone ever found out about what was to happen, they would have thought he had lost his mind. He shook off the thought and put his seal equipment away.

He suddenly stopped and turned around. "You can come out now you big pussy," he cursed out with an insane, broken, and twisted smile. The dark smile seemed so out of place on his soft features. The person did as told and walked out into the open, where his enemy can see her. Naruto stared in slight shock at the face that he saw.

It was Luann William, the women who enjoyed wearing outfits with floral patterns on them. He let out an animal like growl at her in anger and annoyance.

"What's got your panties tied in a knot today?" she mocked. Her red dress with white petals swaying as she walked towards him. Naruto glared at her, forcing her to stop a few inches away from the seal on the floor. His glare was full of so much anger that her throat even went dry. "Where is everyone?" Naruto asked, his patience dissolving with his sanity.

Luann laughed darkly at him, walking towards him with her long legs until she was standing directly on the seal. "They're sleeping. Which they will remain like that until the princess finally appears. Then along with her, they will die," her voice was cold and filled with ill intent. Naruto smiled sweetly at her.

"What the fuck are you smiling for dumb shit? Didn't you hear me? You're going to die, just like everyone else!" the woman shouted outraged at his expression. Naruto just kept smiling.

"How can you kill me if you're dead?" he asked. Luann glared at him, but before she could tell him off a pair of blue skinned arms came out of the seal, and held onto her smooth legs. "What the fuck?!" she shouted as she took out a kunai and attacked the arms in vain.

Naruto's sickly sweet smile turned demon like at an instant. "The seal you're on leads to the world of death," he stated with glee at her horrified face.

"How is this possible?!" Her voice seemed to echo off the stone walls as another pair of blue arms joined in. The arms kept dragging her slowly into their world of anger, depression, and sadness. A world, where you can easily, lose your sanity.

"I made a contract with an old friend of mine. It was the contract of death," he paused looking at her slowly descending figure. "Now why do you want to attack us?" he asked with cold eyes, his tone held no emotion.

Luann stared in fear as her scared hazel eyes connected with his insane blue ones.

"I....because... because she stole our Queen... and… and killed our beloved King!" she shouted in panic before being sucked into the other world by the arms. Naruto smiled at the information that was given, glad he was able to pull something out of her before she left his world for good.

"Good enough," he said before cleaning up the seal, leaving no trace of what had just taken place. Two figures hid in the shadows as they digested what they had seen. The figures watched with troubled minds the person that was the main key to their plan walk away.

--------------------

Naruto happily walked to his father's room to wake him up. It had been hours since he encountered Luann.. He still felt unsafe in the tower. Because of this, he wasn't going to let his guard down for anything. Especially around Jasmin, he had a feeling she going to try and attack the princess, which they had to protect, and his fellow ninjas.

He knocked on a metal door that leads to his father. The door opened after a moment of waiting. A tired looking figure met his gaze. "Hello father," he greeted with kindness.

His insane eyes were replaced with a soft gaze and a sweet smile adorned his tan face. "Hi," was all Minato said as he drew his son in for a hug. Naruto hugged his father back. He looked around the room once he was released.

The walls were a deep velvet color and a soft pink carpet filled with dust covered the floor. The air was filled with an odor that caused his eyes to water with its scent. There was only one window, but it was barred like the window in his room. Naruto snorted. "How can you sleep in a dump like this?" he asked Minato.

His father just shook his head. "I didn't," he stated, his voice sounded tired and strained. He closed the door behind him as he made his way into the empty and silent hallway. He started walking away before halting. Without looking back he said, in a tone so empty and devoid of emotion, "I saw what you did."

Naruto froze in his tracks and stood still in shock. "Who gave you that contract?" Minato asked, his tone hard. He desperately hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.

Naruto remained silent, dumbfounded. "An old friend gave it to me," he told him, after a brief moment of silence. His voice hushed and filled with hurt and shame. He saw the older man nod his head. "It was a shock to say the least to see you act like that," he started out saying. This time his tone was not hard, but soft. "But I was impressed by the amount of skill you showed with seals. I do not approve about your contract with the world of death, but it's your choice. And I respect that. I just want you to be careful." That was all his father told him, before he left, looking for the others.

Naruto stayed in his spot, looking at the ground. "If only you knew what my choice will cost me," he whispered, referring to the contract he made years ago.

---------------------

Everyone was now up and ready to leave. The only problem was that the princess had yet to arrive. They also had another problem that only two people were aware of, and it was Jasmin. Minato looked at the younger women, seeing her glare at his son made him release a massive amount of killing intent. The dark tanned women stopped glaring, and chose to instead look in front of her. It was the right chose.

Minutes later, they saw a figure approach. It was young female, who looked no older than 15 years of age.

The first thing everyone noticed was her wavy golden color hair. It flowed like strands of silk in the distressed wind, and went past her round waist... The blue diamonds she had for eyes contrasted beautifully against her olive skin, and seemed to have the ability to stare into your soul. Her small figure was dressed in a short sleeved mini dress. The deep-V camel colored neckline exposed more of her alluring skin, but her cleavage was hidden from view by the black shirt that came attached to the dress. The color contrast banding at empire waist was a light orange. Under the band of the mini dress was a flowing brown bottom that stopped five inches above the knees. On her feet were thigh high leather boots the color of desert sands. On her head was a large sun hat and on her right arm was a large white bag. Her wrists held black bangles, and on her pierced ears were dangling silver hoop earrings.

She smiled sweetly at them with her full pink lips. "Hi!" She greeted to them, her voice perky and full of energy. Sakura was the first to snap out of her shock.

"Hello," she greeted back nervously. The girl turned her head towards Sakura. "Yes?" she asked the bubblegum haired girl.

"Um... did you come here alone?" the pink wearing female asked, secretly feeling jealous at older girl's beauty. The teenager shook her head and gave a musical laugh. "Oh, heavens no! I came with my father figure. He left a couple of minutes ago."

Naruto stared at her. For some reasons he got the sense that she was going to be trouble, BIG trouble. The princess then turned her head towards Jasmin. The latter glared at her and made no effort of hiding it. "Well, hello Jasmin dear, where's your friend?" The princess eyes held a dark look in them when she talked to the kimono wearing women.

Jasmin Una snarled at her before glaring at Naruto. "She's gone on a trip," she lied, her voice was cold and full of venom. The teenager smirked at the older fighter.

"I really hope nothing happened to her," the princess hissed out. Her eyes openly mocking Jasmin, causing so called lady to bubble with rage.

"What's your name miss?" asked Minato, not wanting a fight to happen.

"Oh! How very stupid of me! My name is Tora Yuki!" She did a little twirl and smiled at the male. Minato looked at her. He knew he heard her name from somewhere yet he couldn't place his finger on it.

"So where are we going to escort you to?" asked Sakura like an idiot.

"To my cousins' village," She said in a tone that clearly showed she was annoyed.

"Forgive us your highness, we were told that you would inform us of our duties," Naruto said, calming her down a bit. That turned her annoyed expression to a sweet one. "Oh! Alright, you are to escort me to the Village of Roses . It's a 2 week trip from here. Think you can handle it?"

The ninjas of Konoha had a feeling she was mocking them. Yet they all nodded their heads at her question. Tora's only reaction was a smirk, revealing sharp teeth.

Jasmin continued to glare at Tora and was slowly taking out a kunai. She suddenly lunged at Tora before anyone could move, something shocking happened. To everyone's surprise, Jasmin fell to the floor, screaming like a banshee. Her screams of agony increased when she scratched her face, leaving angry red trails down her face. The ninjas watched in horror as her honey colored eyes let out tears the color of 1000 suns. Her skin let out a disgusting sizzling sound as bubbles started to form on her once flawless skin. Everyone watched as she held her sides in pain, until her deformed figure collapsed onto the grassy floor of the outer world.

Tora looked at Jasmin with fake shock. The only ones that could see through her skillful acting were Kakashi, Anko, Iruka, Naruto, and Minato. Sasuke and Sakura remained clueless as always.

"I think we should at least bury her," Tora suggested, actually being sincere about the death of her enemy. The ninjas complied. Less than 10 minutes later, they left on their journey. They now left the devil's den, just to descend even further into hell.

-----------------------------

The trip was filled with silence once again... No one dared speak, not knowing what to say to destroy the tension, or the insane thoughts floating through their thick skulls.

Naruto pressed his lips tightly together, the tension making its way to the darkest corners of his unstable mind. He knew something was about to go down. He knew that they were in danger of being killed. He could just _sense_ it. He could _smell_ it. And that feeling alone kept him on high alert.

That caution could help prevent their blood from being spilled. But would it be enough? He hoped so.. Or they might end up in a even worse situation than the one Jasmin went through. Naruto shivered at the thought. He never seen anything more disgusting than her death. Everything just happened so quickly. None of the ninjas had any time to react to her sudden outlash at the princess, or the way she suddenly fell to the ground and died a painful death. Naruto knew Tora had something to do with that. He knew the people they were going to fight in the future were going to be very skilled and would show no mercy. They would have to keep their guards up at all times and train more, or face something far worse than death itself.

Naruto had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach from the thoughts that weaved itself into his fragile brain. He just hoped everything would be alright. He sighed, knowing he would have to be nicer to Sakura, seeing as this was her first time seeing someone die. He knew she would need support, and he knew that they needed to work on team work and communication with Sasuke. He would have to teach them everything he knows about survival in order to keep them alive.

Questions started popping into his head concerning the princess. He jogged up to catch up to her and walked beside her, along with Anko who was on her left side, while he was on her right.

"Princess, I hope you don't mind asking you a couple of questions," he began. His answer was a soft smile.

"Please refrain from calling me by my title, I have a _name_. And no, I do not mind you asking me questions, as long as you answer mines in return," she said. Naruto nodded to her request.

"Why do you need protection?" he started out, thinking he should start with the root of the mission objection. Tora stared at him hard eyes, as if searching his soul to see if she could trust him.

"I will tell you why when we stop to rest for the night. The reason is long, and in the form of a tale. Everything that flows out of my mouth holds truth, and I request of your full attention when I speak with you. Can you do that?" her voice was serious and her face was stone hard. Naruto could only nod. He watched as she turned her questioning gaze to Anko, silently asking her the same thing with her eyes. Anko in return nodded. They would have to be patient, because it would be a while before the moonlight would shine on their bodies, and hear her story.

* * *

OK.... Just to inform you I got myself **betas**. I also have to warn you I am sick, but only with a cold. I know this is a short chapter but it is a detailed chapter. LOL. Please don't kill me, or hate me, or flame too much WITHOUT a good reason. (There's actually a guide on my pro on how to flame). Just be thankful that I updated this year. I am going to try really hard to update more stories before school starts. Also if your reading this then I must say how thankful I am for sticking with me after all this time, supporting my stories, and giving me advice on how to improve. Please review and vote at my polls, even if my polls can sometimes get kind of wacky..... or downright stupid.


	12. The Past Exposed

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger aka D-Nyce**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK....Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora**( it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but it will be changed to **D-NYCE** when I'm doing AN.

**Warning for this story: Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC. **

* * *

Recap:

_"I will tell you why when we stop to rest for the night. The reason is long, and in the form of a tale. Everything that flows out of my mouth holds truth, and I request of your full attention when I speak with you. Can you do that?" her voice was serious and her face was stone hard. Naruto could only nod. He watched as she turned her questioning gaze to Anko, silently asking her the same thing with her eyes. Anko in return nodded. They would have to be patient, because it would be a while before the moonlight would shine on their bodies, and hear her story._

_--------------_

Hours passed before the ninjas finally decided to take one final break before night fell. "I'm pooped!" exclaimed Sakura as she forced herself to sit on the green grass. Sasuke let out a small sigh as he relaxed near a small tree. The adults of the large group sat in a loose circle deciding that it was time to discuss the genins' skills. While everyone was in their own little world, Naruto and Tora were left to their own devices.

Naruto had wandered the furthest away from the large group, his face blank as he looked up at the clear skies. He watched as the leaves from the sakura trees fell around him and onto the light green grass. His ears perked up at the sound of light footsteps snapping small twigs scattered on the field, yet he didn't turn around. "Hi stranger," came a girly voice.

"Hello Ms. Yuki, what can I do for you?" he asked gently, not feeling in the mood for conversation. Tora glared at him.

"It's Tora. No _Miss _nothing! I just came over to give you this." The princess roughly shoved something into his tan hands, before turning around on her heel and heading to a isolated shady area under a tree.

Naruto looked at the item in his hand. It was a small red leather book with a smooth golden lock on it, the initials _M_ and _S _written in gold. There was something sticking out from the inside of the book. Naruto carefully pulled it out only to see it was a small silver key. He slowly slid the key into the lock. The lock made a loud noise before opening up to a loose page with burned corners and rusty ink.

__

I awoke to the sound of raindrops splashing against the transparent glass of the windows. Everything seemed normal as I slipped off my bed to do my morning chores, after properly taking care of myself. The queen called for me soon after the clock struck 12, and I bolted down the stairs to her chambers like many servants were taught to do. I slowly stepped into the chambers only to note that all of the windows were closed and the curtains were shut. A older male stood by the window with a bunches of paper in one hand, a pen in another. The smell of medicine attacked my sensitive nose before my eyes were drawn to those of my mistress. She was laying on the King size bed looking like a corpse. Her usually dark skin looked like brown dust; her ever green eyes looked more like green swamp water. The queen called me over in a hoarse voice that stun my sensitive ears as I quickly ran to her head, bowing my head and getting on my knees. What she said shocked me to the core.

"I give, my most loyal servant and friend, my royal title. I know you will rule my kingdom as it should be run, with a gentle yet firm hand. I give you my kingdom, my wealth, and my blessings. From now on, only your descendants may rule over the kingdom as you see fit. You can not refuse my offer, as you are the only one I feel safe with to rule over this land. My family is now ruled by greed. The man in the room will take care of everything and teach you how to run everything. He has my will, as you can see I am very ill. Now please leave," she announced before taking my hand in hers and giving it a light kiss. A few tears slipped before I leaned down to her pale face and gave a chaste kiss to even paler lips. A gasp escaped her, allowing my tongue to enter and explore for the first and last time. After a few seconds I separated from the sickly figure and walked out the room. Never to kiss those tempting lips again, never to indulge in the temptations of the human flesh, never to truly love again as I secretly loved the sweet queen.

The queen died a few moments later, my heart shattering into bits at the words of the will reader, who was in the room with us, Master Inu. I was given almost everything, while the others were not so lucky. Her sisters were each given a small cabin to live in, a small amount of gold to help them get by for a few years. Her brothers were also given gold, a larger amount than the greedy lazy females. The queen adored her selfless brothers so she gave them silver, and small proteins of the kingdom and land. Everyone was allowed to keep any of their businesses that they owed, but were forbidden from taking over the kingdom in any way. The will said if I died before giving birth to a hire, than someone of my choosing must take over or there would no longer be a ruler for the land. Monocracy would no longer rule over the land.

Everyone was shocked and accepted the fact with glares and grunts thrown my way. But just because they accepted it, didn't mean my time as ruler was going to be easy.

Naruto stared at the note, the last line running through his head like a broken record. He looked over to where Tora was sitting, her form slumped against the harsh bark of the tree, deep in slumber. He slowly hid the book in his book bag for safekeeping, wanting to read it later on. He walked away from his spot until he sat next to the blond female, silently watching her for a moment.

"Why?" Naruto asked, a tan hand under his chin.. Tora took a deep breath before slowly opening her eyes and tilting her head upwards.

"Because, you will need to know all of this information when we arrive at my destination. I want you to read my mothers journal to the group once night falls. I promised to speak of my past and all you need to know is in that red leather book."

Naruto nodded, blond locks brushing against his forehead. "Why me?" he asked the princess. Tora looked at him, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Damn it! You sure ask a lot of questions! All of the answers are in that book! Now read it," Tora demanded, puffing out her cheeks in irritation. Naruto just rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Can you explain the first letter to me?" he asked, looking down to the ground. Tora let a smile grace her features, looking as sweet and innocent as she appeared the first morning.

"The first entry is about how my mother went from being a servant to a queen, and the original queen's death."

"But why would the queen do that? Give the throne to your mother instead of her siblings?"

"Because my sweet knuckle headed guard, they loved each other. They did not know of the others love for the other, so it came a surprise to the queen when my mother kissed her on her deathbed. Not to mention the fact that her brothers did not wish to become rulers. And the sisters were greedy bitches." Tora suddenly looked tired, her form slumping further down the tree. Naruto nodded at the answer, deep in thought.

"One day Naruto-kun, you will understand the burdens and trails that come with being a leader. You will understand that all the pain and betrayal that comes with it is never worth it," was the last thing whispered by Tora, her mind luring her to the world of dreams. Naruto's head snapped towards her direction, his blue eyes wide with surprise and shock.

-------

Half an hour passed before Anko rose from her spot on the grass, wiping the back of her skirt with sharp nailed hands. "Time to leave," she calmly said, walking around the site until her eyes landed on Naruto and the princess.

"Hi brats! Time to leave!" Anko screamed, her hands on her round hips as she leaned forward. Naruto looked up from the journal in his hands, extending his arm out to roughly shake Tora from her slumber.

But she didn't stir, even if the flesh on her neck was growing raw from the friction between her skin and the tree. Naruto shook her harder, ignoring the droplets of blood oozing down her neck because of him. She refused to wake, a groan escaping from plump lips in protest. Naruto growled and began to yell, patience never was his strong point. "Wake up already!"

Long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings with opening eyelids. Two dazed eyes bore into Naruto, penetrating him to the very core.

"Come on brats we don't have all day!" Anko's voice sliced though the tense air like a kunai. Tora silently got up from her spot, a smooth hand brushing against her neck before reappearing in front of her. She stared at the blood, her eyes blank. Her legs started to move towards Naruto before suddenly stopping before him. A sharp slap echoed though the field, a bloody hand print on a tan cheek was all that could be seen. Naruto stood still like a statue in shock.

Tora walked towards the large group of ninjas, her eyes blank and hollow. Naruto followed behind her, his angry stomps leaving deep footsteps in the ground only to be refilled by grass.

The rest of the ninjas decided not to the deal with the situation at the moment, they had much ground to cover. Iruka silently handed his former student a cloth to wipe the blood from his face.

----

By the time night fell, the large group were 1/3rd of the way to their destination. Tora and Naruto had yet to talk or even look at each other.

A few miles later, Kakashi stopped, and suggested to set up camp.

Everyone agreed and set up the tents. Tora wanted to share a tent with Anko, since her tent was overly too big. Anko agreed and gave her tent to Naruto so he wouldn't have to share with Kakashi or Sasuke. Kakashi shared his tent with Iruka, leaving Sakura with her own tent and Minato also was going to sleep alone.

After the tents were put up, the students were set out to gather firewood, while the elders set up traps. After the students had arrived back to the camp, they found the elders sitting in a circle, the princess far from the group. She was dressed in a long gray shirt that reached her knees and that covered her short shorts, her shinobi sandals on her feet. All the shinobis' were still wearing their earlier clothes, the only difference was that Anko had taken off her coat. Kakashi had turned his head towards his team and told them to set up the fire, they did as they were told, grumbling about lazy ass senseis.

Naruto watched in silence as Sasuke finish his fire jutsu, setting the wooden sticks on fire. Sakura did the same, a clear look of admiration and lust in her eyes.

"Naruto," came a soft voice. Naruto looked around until he met the gaze of Tora. He silently walked over to her, then took a seat on the ground next to the rock her bum sat on.

"Yes?" he asked her still form. Tora spared him a glance.

"I still want you to read my mother's journal. Plus I would like to apologize for my earlier behavior. When I see blood, I tend to be withdrawn and resentful. I... just don't deal well with... blood," she mumbled. Naruto looked at her, examining her for a moment, before he stood up and walked over to his backpack.. He took out the small red leather book with the rusted ink and chipping paper.

Tora just watched him, pulling her blond locks away from her olive colored face. Naruto walked back over to her, taking the smaller hand into his, and leading her towards the large group of talking shinobis.

"Everyone," he said in a loud yet demanding voice. All eyes were drawn towards the dobe of the class, waiting for him to say something.

"Tora has requested that I read you something. Earlier, during our travel, Tora promised me and the snake mistress to tell us about her life. And she will do so using her mothers' journal. If you don't want to hear anything, then please leave the camp. NO tolerance will be shown towards complaints.."

Some of the people were shocked at Naruto's bluntness, others shocked at his use of vocabulary. No one moved from their spot or spoke a word. Naruto dragged Tora over to a stomp. He sat next to it as Tora sat on the wooden seat.

"Last chance to get away," he warned. Tora gave a small smile, somewhat glad that Naruto could easily forgive and act this way for her own good.

Naruto then proceeded to reread the first entry to everyone. Everyone stayed silent during the whole time until the end.

"Tora-san, why did the queen die?" asked a timid Sakura.

"The queen was infected with a disease that was slowly eating away at her body. And before anyone asks, it has no cure," Tora answered in a light and gentle tone. "Naruto read the next entry."

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, a nagging feeling eating away at his scattered mind. His eyes snapped open in a instant and gripped the book a little tighter before words flowed out of his mouth.

__

"A month and a half has passed since I became queen, but to me it has felt like ages. The former queen's sisters have begun to torture me with death threats, harsh words, and rough pulling or shoving. They treat me and see me as trash, shit under their feet. One time, while I was away, they tore up my good clothing and ruined my room. The room that belonged to their dead sister, the room that contained the bed I now cry on every night. When I arrived home, I had them escorted from the castle, and had the experts fix it. I still get visits from them, even if I had them banned. They come here demanding to be made queen, to take back the family name. I just have them kicked out.

Master Inu has visited me this month. He is a nice fella but very anti-social. He brings me sweet gifts like chocolate and roses. I know that he is trying to seduce me, but I will not give into temptation, for I am still grieving over the loss of what could have been my lover, but was only a friend."

Naruto stopped reading, looking at the page. It was a rather short entry but it was enough to explain what was happening in the queen's days of ruler. No one spoke.

"It's sad really," whispered Sakura.

"What is?" Iruka asked her.

"They felt the same way about each other, but did not know until it was too late. It's like a tragedy really."

Iruka nodded at the answer in understanding. He agreed with the pink haired girl that it was truly a bittersweet moment. Anko got up and walked away for a moment, before looking over her shoulder.

"We need to get food. Come on pinkie and emo brat, we're getting food.. We can't have your stupid asses slacking off now can me?" and with a wink, Anko ran off to the nearest stream. Sasuke ran after her, while Sakura struggled to run after them.

Tora just watched them with sad eyes. She knew what was about to come, something that might destroy everyone of them.

* * *

Greetings from NY and happy 2010!


	13. Observations and Visitors

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK....Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but durning a AN I will be using my nickname.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

I would like to** thank my** **betas** for the wonderful jobs they do on all my stories.

Akemiko aka ake-chan and Tsukiko belong to living laughing dead. The other anime characters do not belong to me either. But the Yuki's do (The blond triplets, and Arashi). And so does Bloody Red(Rose).

* * *

Recap:

_"We need to get food. Come on pinkie and emo brat, we're getting food.. We can't have your stupid asses slacking off now can me?" and with a wink, Anko ran off to the nearest stream. Sasuke ran after her, while Sakura struggled to run after them._

_Tora just watched them with sad eyes. She knew what was about to come, something that might destroy everyone of them._

**--------**

The sun shined on the silent yet active campsite. Anyone spying on them would see the ninjas packing up, basking in the silence. Everyone but Naruto was basking in the silence, the very silence that reminded him everyday of his decision. The decision to become the holder of the contract of death.

He didn't remember exactly how that came to be. His memory was still scattered even after all these years. All he could remember was that he felt like he was on the brick of death, expecting the grim reaper to take him away. He remembered that feeling so fucking well, yet he wished he could eliminate those memories from his soul.

**Flashback:**

_A thin little boy sat on the ground, leaning against the brick wall. He shivered from the dampness of the blood that gushed out of his cuts and bruises. He looked around him with hollow eyes and a slowing heart, taking in the world for the last time. It was dark and gloomy, much like his life. He didn't know if the first drop of liquid that had fallen was from his eyes or the sky. _

_He didn't think he had the ability to cry anymore. Yet he could feel the tears travel down his cheeks and onto the bloody floor. He could hear the sobs that soon followed. He could smell his tears mingling with his fresh blood._ _He closed his dim lit eyes, and felt his heart slow down with every labored breath. He didn't think he was going to make it, and he didn't think he wanted to. He only wished for death, something that was being granted to him for once. Like the price for being alive, he had to endure the beatings, the glares, and the loss of blood, just to have his wish come into reality. _

_A bitter smile graced the 9 year old pale face. His blond locks covering his hazy eyes. _

_"**Are you going to let go so easily?**" came a rough dark voice._

_Naruto didn't answer, his eyes glazed over._

_"**Are you going to let them win?**" the voice asked the dying boy. This time Naruto's eyes moved, looking for the owner of that nagging voice._

_He couldn't make out much, as his eye sight was leaving him. But he could make out a large figure covered in a white robe. Everything else was a blur._

_"**Why did you let them break you, when you have such potential to either bring havoc or peace on this dying earth?**" the mystery figure asked him. Naruto felt like the figure was glaring at his body. _

_"**I can't let you go to waste young one. You don't belong in the world of the dead. Well... not now anyway**."_

_Naruto felt his body being picked up. Then the pain came. His body shook in different directions, as the figure covered his poor body in a black aura. _

**END FLASHBACK**

Naruto forced the memories back, his breaths becoming labored. He didn't want to remember anything else that from that day. He didn't want to remember the feeling of almost dying and then being forced to face reality. He never wanted to know how it felt to be forced to live, to have life forced back into your weaken body. He NEVER wanted to feel anything like that EVER again!

------------------

"Hi brat!" Anko greeted with a toothy grin. Naruto spared her a glance before looking her book bag for the third time. Anko frowned.

"What's the matter squirt?"

"I can't find it!" Naruto shouted at her. Anko let the show of disrespect slide... for this time only.

"Find what?" She really didn't care what he was looking for, but she had nothing else to do. She already tortured bubblegum and bird head and even that got boring!

"The princess book!" A look of understanding took over the busty women face. "Where you put it last?" she asked him, crossing her arms.

Naruto thought back before his eyes widen in horror. "SHIT!"

Anko gave a smirk as she watched the youngling run off. When he was out of range, she took out a small leather book from her trench coat.

"Sometimes it pays to have big boobs!" she smiled, before putting the book back in her jacket. She quickly walked away, making sure to throw a kunai at Kakashi for spying on her. A dark smirk emerged as a scream sliced through the air. "You better get that checked Kakashi, else it might get infected and fall off," she teased, never looking back at his shaking form.

Kakashi just grunted in pain, his hands between his shaking legs. _Anko was going to pay_, he thought as he ripped the kunai away from his abused flesh.

-----------**xxxXxxx**----------

The princess looked over the empty campsite for the last time. It no longer held the sleeping tents, the burning wood, or the bodies of her fellow ninjas. It was just... empty. The Konoha ninjas had gotten rid of any evidence that they were ever there. No footprints, marks, or even DNA. Well, she was the one who had gotten rid of all DNA that was spread throughout the site, but no one knew as of yet.

She turned her eyes towards the group of human bodies, grunting in distaste. How are these people supposed to protect her?

_'They have too many weaknesses,'_ the princess mused in annoyance.

First off, the man named Kakashi looked too lazy. Plus the fact that he was guilt ridden for the death of his friend, weighed him down and clouded his mind. He also played favorites _too _often. NOT to mention he had yet to train his students, and only teaching ONE thing did NOT count!

Sakura was weak physically and emotionally. Her being a fangirl hinders her training and her mind. Tora would bet her kingdom, that if Sasuke said jump off a building, Sakura would. All the bubblegum haired bitch wanted was for her dream guy to succeed at whatever he did, completely ignoring herself.

Sasuke is clouded by revenge. All he desires is power, which is offered to him in a silver platter, either by Kakashi or another idiot. He uses his teammates as a stepping stone to reach his goal. She knew that he was a traitor in the making. She knew if power or his brother was involved, he would back stabbed everyone in a heartbeat. Not to mention he was overly cocky in everything he did.

Naruto was fake. He hid his pain and insanity behind a mask of smiles and joy. She wasn't sure if she could truly trust him, or be trusted in return. Though he was thought of as a open book, he was too secretive for his own good. She didn't think she would ever be able to know the true Naruto.

Anko..... she was a strange women. Tora wasn't sure what to think of her, only that she was crazy. Possibly even more crazy than the mentally insane princess or the broken blond fox.

Iruka seemed too sweet. She knew well that he could kill without a second thought, just like every _real_ ninja was taught. But he had many weaknesses. One of which was his honor, the other his brother figure.

Minato was also another person that she could not understand completely. She just knew she couldn't trust him that much. Something was off about him, and that unnerved the royal. He was manipulative and sly like her. And like her, he had well hidden weaknesses. But there was something odd about that strange look in those cold eyes. Something she has seen before.

Now the princess thought about their strengths, before she came to a realization. They were far too weak compared to _her_ people. She sighed, forcing herself not to compare the different villages.

But, these ninjas hindered by mistakes of the past, have their strong points.

Kakashi though lazy, was like a fierce warrior in battle. He either fought until he was too weak or if he won. Sure, there were times where he almost got killed because of those things, and sure it cost him his friends, but that didn't mattered anymore.

Anko was the same. But unlike Kakashi, she was much colder than him in battle. She always went in for the kill, not only to win. She uses her emotions to fuel her attacks, not bring her down.

Iruka, that sweet dolphin was over protective. He would not give up for anything. Tora knew he had a lot of fight in him, and was sure that he kept a leveled head. Something that is always needed in battle.

Minato had too many good things going on for him in the battlefield. He was elegant, fierce, and powerful. He was like the perfect reincarnation of the war god, only he had his stupid moments. He was smart, attempting and inventing different jutsus and techniques.

Sasuke was power hungry. But thanks to his selfish goal, he is always seeking to become powerful. He always wanted to perfect every jutsu he knew. He held a desire to perfect his training techniques and fighting skills.

Sakura was book smart. She was like a dictionary in human form, only with a large forehead instead acting as its cover. She had excellent chakra control, but didn't put it to use enough.

Naruto... well, he had a strong will. His mind was shattered and so was his soul. He has the potential to make it big. He had a vast amount of chakra, his family scrolls, and a demon on his side. With the right teacher, he could become a very power force.

The princess wasn't sure why her daddy had appointed Konoha ninjas to protect her, when the Moon ninjas could have handled the jobs. Her eyes widen in both horror and rage at the thought that clawed at her mind. What if her daddy was using this as a way of making a peace treaty between the two rival villages? She wouldn't stand for that! That monkey looking hokage had killed her mother. There would never be a good enough reason to justify the number of lives he took.

"Princess!" The loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned around to face Sakura.

"Yes?" she calmly answered, looking at her with dead eyes.

"We... we need to get a move on your highness," the youngest female of the group informed. The royal nodded her head, her curls hitting her face in the process. Tora huffed in irritation, sweeping the blond locks away from her face, and over her shoulders.

She moved in the direction of the group and past Sakura. Her eyes had no shine and her movements were fierce and graceful. No one noticed, but her skillful fingers held a firm grip on a hidden sword. Something was going down and _soon_.

-----

"Still haven't found that book, huh squirt?" Anko sounded both amused and satisfied. Naruto glared at her, his body tense with rage.

"No I have not, my sweet snake mistress," he hissed out, but there was an undertone of playfulness.

Anko raised an eyebrow. "Really brat? That's the best you got? What if the princess found out? Ever thought of that?"

"Found out what?" Both residents of Konoha looked behind them, only to find the princess looking at them with a curious expression.

"Nothing!" Naruto squeaked out, Anko smirking at him.

"I ask again, what do you not want me to find out?" Tora held a smile on her tan face, a dark aura surrounding her small frame.

"Um, do you remember the book you gave me?" Naruto asked with shaky fingers. He didn't know why his body was reacting this way. He groaned in irritation as he felt Anko's smirk grow bigger with each word he spoke. He promised himself he would get that evil women back... one of these days.

"Yes," the girl answered.

"Well.... I think I... lost it?" The fox like boy questioned more than answered. He watched the royal under messy hair as she looked blankly at him.

"Your point?" she asked him, a confused expression taking over her face.

"What?!" Anko shouted, losing her composure. Naruto couldn't find it in him to laugh at her, since he too was confused.

"I feel that the book is in good hands, now who wants some food?" Tora eyes closed, her smile taking up most of her face. Naruto nodded his head dumbly, but he couldn't help but notice, that the princess had looked at Anko when she said the first part. He threw the mistress a deathly glare before walking towards the resting spot. Anko growled, looking up at the sky that seemed to mock her with their grey clouds.

"Fuck my life," she hissed.

------

"Hi fox!" a distant voice shouted out. Naruto's eyes snapped open looking around the camp.

"Over here!" the far away voice shouted again. Naruto looked toward its direction with a frown. He quickly walked over to where he pin pointed the voice.

"What do you want?" he growled out.

"Hey calm down, foxy-chan!" the female voice teased. The blond rolled his eyes, his hands now planted on his hips. "What are you doing here?!"

"Aw! Come on foxy! You didn't miss me as much as I missed you?" the female voice asked, an amused undertone leaking out into her voice.

"Ake-chan, you know I love you. But again I must ask, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

The girl giggled. Naruto noticed that her body seemed to blend with the night, only her dark purple eyes standing out against the blackness of the sky. She quickly pulled Naruto into her arms. Naruto rolled his eyes once again, but hugged his older friend back.

"So how you been?" Naruto sighed, ignoring the dark thoughts fighting their way to the front of his mind.

"Not good I presume?" Akemiko questioned with a frown. Naruto remained silent and looked away from her.

"Did you get your memories back?" she asked after a short pause. Naruto stopped breathing for a second, before he was slapped on his back by a gentle hand. The sound of the slap echoed throughout the clearing.

"You have to go," he harshly spat when he heard the sound of soft footsteps. Akemiko looked over his shoulder, her lips pressed together in a firm line.

"No need for that Naru-chan," a familiar voice chimed. Narutos' head snapped to the side, looking directly into shimmering blue eyes. _'Fuck,'_ he thought in irritation.

"Hello Tora-san," he greeted bitterly. Tora frowned and then huffed. "I told you to call me Tora! No san, princess, or any other shit like that!" Tora hissed out, causing Akemiko to giggle at her little brother figure's face.

"Now, my little golden fox, who's your friend?" Tora asked with a soft smile. Akemiko stopped giggling and held out her hand.

"My name's Akemiko, but you can call me Ake!" then she fell into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Tora smiled.

"My name is Tora, and you can cal me anything you like," Tora replied with a charming smile. Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Great," he grumbled. _'More people to torture me,'_ he thought bitterly, but his eyes soften when he looked at Ake-chan. At least she understood what he went through the night that he almost died. He sighed and looked up at the sky, past the tree that blocked the moon, only to stare into dark red orbs. The smile that was on his face slowly melted away, and he looked at the other figure with a frown.

"Hello," the word came out as a soft whisper, yet everyone was able to hear it. The females of the small group looked up and Akemiko smiled with glee.

"Tsukiko!" her excited voice cut through the tension between the two boys. The older male hopped out the tree and landed on the ground without a sound. He nodded towards his friend and glared at Naruto.

"Naruto," his voice flowed over the occupants of the group like water. Naruto said nothing and waited for the other boy to keep speaking.

But when Tsukiko opened his mouth another unwanted voice rang out in rage. "Naruto!" the female voice shouted in annoyance. Naruto sighed and glanced at Tora. She nodded her head at him, her hair once again getting in her face. She growled in annoyance, and harshly shoves them behind her ears. Naruto gave a small laugh and said a quick goodbye to Akemiko who hugged him. He walked away without saying goodbye to Tsukiko. Tora just smiled at the both of them before storming off to the campsite.

"I thought you weren't coming?" Akemiko questioned with a confused look. Tsukiko sighed and walked away, his friend following after him a few seconds later.

* * *

Happy late V-day! I had to say that since that would be the only good thing about that day for me. Love ya! Shout out to Living Laughing Dead and my beta strawberrychan1_ichigochan1! She soooooo rules right now!!!!! Thank you for fixing my chapter and giving me feedback!


	14. Hints of Craziness

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**D-Nyce: **OK...Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My username is still Tiger159 but durning a AN I will be using my nickname.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ETC.

I would like to** thank my** **betas** for the wonderful jobs they do on all my stories.

Akemiko aka ake-chan and Tsukiko belong to living laughing dead. The other anime characters do not belong to me either. But the Yuki's do (The blond triplets and Arashi). And so does Bloody Red (Rose).

Inspirations for clothing:

http:/www dot videogamegirlsdb dot com/ gamegirl /Images /Street_Fighter/ Chun-Li / Chunli_street_fighter_06 dot jpg (Tora's pick)

Eye of Horus Pendant:

http:/store dot higherheart dot com / product dot php / Eye-of-Horus-Pendant / 919/0

* * *

Recap:

_"Naruto," his voice flowed over the occupants of the group like water. Naruto said nothing and waited for the other boy to keep speaking._

_But when Tsukiko opened his mouth another unwanted voice rang out in rage. "Naruto!" the female voice shouted in annoyance. Naruto sighed and glanced at Tora. She nodded her head at him, her hair once again getting in her face. She growled in annoyance, and harshly shoves them behind her ears. Naruto gave a small laugh and said a quick goodbye to Akemiko who hugged him. He walked away without saying goodbye to Tsukiko. Tora just smiled at the both of them before storming off to the campsite._

_"I thought you weren't coming?" Akemiko questioned with a confused look. Tsukiko sighed and walked away, his friend following after him a few seconds later._

"Naruto!" the girly voice once again shouted in rage.

"Yes Sakura-Chan?" he questioned with a sigh. The _'Chan' _part had become a habit when referring to his teammate. Sakura huffed in distaste, her disgusted glare tearing through his soul.

"Where were you? Where did you take the princess? I don't even know how she would go anywhere with someone like you!" Sakura shouted in rage. Naruto's body stiffen before forcing it to relax.

"Sakura please shut up," Naruto advised, his voice filled with restrained anger. Sakura ignored the warning, huffing again in irritation.

"And plus! Your tent is a mess and smells badly! And didn't you know it was your turn to guard the camp?" Sakura's face had turned a tomato red and Naruto snorted at her.

"It's not my fault no one ever tells me anything!" he shouted. Sakura opened her mouth a couple of times before closing it a few seconds later. She huffed for one last time.

"Well now you know," she screamed in her ignorant tone, and turned on her heels. Naruto watched through his choppy bangs as she stomped towards her tent.

"She's a rotten bitch ain't she," the tone clearly stated that it was more of an observation than an actual question.

"Yeah," Naruto commented, looking at the princess with sparkling eyes. Tora threw him a smirk, pulling out a red leather book from the pocket of her clothing. She was now dressed in a baggy shirt with side pockets, a pair of jeans, and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. She slowly walked towards him with her bare feet, easily avoiding rocks and sticks along the way.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the dreaded book. "Where you found it?" he questioned with a snort.

Tora smiled, "Ask Anko," she teased and threw him the book. He catches it in mid air and held it to his chest.

"Another reading tomorrow?" she asked him with a knowing smile. Naruto smirked back, "Believe it!"

It was once again time to move on. The camp was cleared out and all evidence was eliminated. The group walked in silence and in boredom. Naruto played with the diary in his hand. The red leather cover seemed to be untouchable by the rays of the sun. He carefully opened up the book with delicate fingers and glided them over the rusty pages.

He looked up from the book, staring into coal black eyes that could only belong to Sasuke.

"Hi," he greeted. Sasuke grunted in greeting and sat down next to him. A moment of silence was shared between them before Naruto couldn't take any more. "Did you want something?" he blurted out. Sasuke flashed him a blank look and refused to open his pale lips to speak. Naruto sighed and got back to the book in front of him.

He began to read out loud, letting the words fill the silence that consumed both figures.

_I feel ill. It has been a while since I written my first entry only to write the sick feeling flowing through me. I am to meet with the ex-queen business partner. He had gone into retirement a year before the death of the my precious beloved. His name is Arnold. Mr. Inu has made it his job to protect me from this supposed dangerous creature. When he described the stranger, a short man with a even shorter temper, I had laughed. But Inu had assured me that Jack wasn't someone to mess with. The man had a very manipulating mind and used his political power and status to his advantage. He played dirty, I was told. _

_I did not believe him, but as dusk slowly turned into dawn. A sick feeling began to form in my stomach after dinner time. I just thought I had a stomach ache from all the delicious food, but the feeling still stayed with me for the rest of the day. I was no fool to not inform my dear friend Inu. Before he came to work for the now deceased queen, he had taken some lessons in medicine. I ran into him in the hallway, he has been on his way to his study. I told him what I felt. I felt so sick, weak, and like I was being torn apart from the inside. Inu did not know the cause of the problem, no matter how much he searched or guessed. _

_We both felt sorry for that fact. Hopefully it wasn't serious. _

The diary entry ended there. Naruto looked over to his teammate, only to find him in deep thought. "Sasuke?" Naruto asked, for once nervous to know what his best friend was thinking. The older boy turned his head towards the smaller figure and gave him a small smirk. Naruto smiled relieved. He didn't know why he felt nervous, or why he relaxed once that teme smirked at him, but he had this sick feeling his stomach. He felt the urge to ask what the idiot was thinking, knowing that it must be darker than usual. But he didn't yet he wished he did when he had the chance.

Naruto sighed, his head pounding and stomach turning. He once again looked over to Sasuke only to find him walking towards him. Naruto looked up at the standing figure of his friend and tensed up slightly when he felt arms around him.

"You're like the brother Itachi never was," came the low whisper. Naruto's eyes widen in shock. He smiled at Sasuke's now retreating back, in a daze.

"That sure was random," another voice whispered. But it was far too low, even for Naruto's fox like hearing. The dangerous red orbs latched onto Naruto's body. Those goddamn orbs watched him like the very prey he was.

Naruto froze in his sitting position. He felt someone watching him and he had the sudden urge to run, and that is what he did. He snapped up from his position and ran towards his teammates. He would be there. Well, at least he thought so.

The unknown figure chuckled at his new prey actions. "It's time for you to be tamed my fox." he said, his red eyes glinting in the shadows of the tree. It was time for the fox to meet its master.

Naruto ran as quickly as he could to the campsite, the feeling of being watched never left him. He didn't feel good at all. His muscles were beginning to cramp up, his head ach got worse, his stomach kept turning, and he felt as if he was going to throw up. He felt SICK.

_'Just like the Queen did in her diary,_' he mused. He tried to ignore the pain, but as soon as he arrived to safety, all that he had ate that day and the day before, had dared to exit his body through his throat. Now he just felt weak and annoyed as the headache subdued, and his stomach relaxed yet growled in hunger. His throat felt raw and his muscles struggled to relax as he leaned against the tree near his tent. He just needed rest. He walked into his tent and fell against the pillow, easily ignoring the acidic smells being released from his abused throat.

He hates being sick. He hates being weak. He hates throwing up. He hated how tired he felt and how torn up he felt. He looked like the child he was, if not younger.

He fell asleep as soon as his head connected with the pillow. Not to reopen his eyes until the sky grew a dark blue color.

Weeks passed since that incident, and they were only a day away from their destination: The Rose Village. Tora had fallen silent for the past few days, only choosing to speak to answer questions or give commands. Naruto knew something was up.

She had forced him to read from the journal every night. They learned some horrible truths. Once the queen had met Arnold, everything went downhill. Arnold found her to be easy prey and manipulated her to do his bidding's whenever he had the chance, which was usually only when Inutaisho aka Inu wasn't around. They had a strange feeling that this awful man had something to do with the formal queen death.

It made most of the people present sick to their stomachs. Naruto was now feeling better but his stomach would easily get upset at the sight or mention of food. The name Arnold also made it upset, and Naruto didn't know why. He breathed in deeply and walked besides the princess and watched her twirl around in circles. This time she was wearing a white dress with a wide green sash that started under her bosom. Her hair was in pigtails and her shoes were black ninja sandals. On her back was a sword with the red kanji for warrior on the black handle. No one knew where she got the sword. _'Probably from the last village,_' the Konoha ninjas thought. They had grown tired from traveling nonstop for 3 days, so they found themselves extremely lucky when they had found a village.

The village was very fruitful in almost everything, and they all knew Tora as the _mistress_. None of them seemed too happy seeing her in their territory. Though they treated the Konoha ninjas as they would any wandering traveler, they treated Tora with fear and caution. One look from Tora would cause them to either glare or run. Naruto sighed. This village reminded him too much of his treatment in Konoha.

And that was a big NO in his book.

They only stayed in the village from 6am to midnight. They restocked on food, water, and weapons. Using their fear against them, Tora managed to buy most of her gear at half price. During the short lived break, she bought herself from fresh set of clothing, just like the many other members of the group.

Tora had bought herself a pair of jeans that had white swirls at the base of the pants, and a cropped star at the back pockets. Another pair of pants was bought, only this time it was a looser pair that was more suitable in battle. These pants were black, had 6 pockets for easy storage, with snag proof button flaps to close/hide the objects. The pant were loose enough to train in, but tight enough not to flap. Flapping material can screw up a jutsu or technique if it catches on fair or gets caught up in a branch, etc. Two shirts were also bought. One was a cream colored Chinese style, with blue swirls and strips of red. The other shirt was once again black, with stripes of red at the rims and collar of the shirt. On her way to pay, she grabbed a pair of fishnet, fingerless, red gloves, and fireproof black gloves. A pair of black boots was necessary, along with a dagger and sword.

Anko, the lovely snake mistress, indulged herself in weapons. Once all her ninja gear was restocked, she headed towards the dagger, knife, and sword area. Nothing seemed to catch her eye, until she caught sight of a double edged sword with a metal handle. Next to it was a booklet, flipping through it, she quickly learned that she could infuse chakra into it to transform the blades. Grinning, she picked up the feather light weapon with the booklet, and went over to the scroll section. After picking a variety of scrolls, she bought herself a black cloak, and a roll of wires.

Iruka had been smart enough to buy a first aid kit. He didn't need to restock all his weapons like everyone else, seeing as he hasn't used most of them in a while, but they were in good shape. He bought himself a pair of loose green pants, a grey shirt whose sleeves reached his forearm, and some scrolls on foreign Justus. He looked over to Kakashi and frowned as the older man bought himself a couple of new editions of _Icha Icha Paradise_. Kakashi then walked over to him and his eyes roamed over the foreign Justus scrolls. Iruka watched him out of the corner of his eyes, not trusting his partner.

To distract himself, Iruka walked to the hidden weapons section. This section contained weapons that could change size under 5 seconds, and can be hidden easily under any type of clothing. Humming to himself, he let his fingers and eyes examine the collection, his face blank and his eyes intense. "Hello, may I help you?" came a rough voice. Iruka looked up in surprise at the taller male that now stood in front of him. The male's skin was a shade darker than Iruka's own, and his features were sharp yet soft at the same time. He wore a pair of leather pants and a tight blue shirt that showed off the 6 pack that was hidden underneath. Iruka smiled gently at the man then shook his head towards the question.

"Are you sure? I could tell you all you need to know about these special weapons and discounts are given to first time buyers," the man persisted. Iruka sighed and looked at the name tag attached: Arnold. This time Iruka accepted his offer of help, in order to get the man off his back, and to gain more knowledge on the unique weapons.

Arnold smiled. "Right this way," he whispered beside him, his left hand hovering over the arch of his back. Quickly moving away from him, Iruka flashed him a nervous smile as the older man led him to a weapon that looked rather harmless, but he has been wrong before.

"You see this can?" Arnold asked Iruka. Iruka flashed him a dark look but still nodded, already disliking the man even more than before. Arnold picked up the tin can that looked like a container of food, but in truth it was something far from it.

"This, my friend, is an explosive," he informed, "An explosive that is able to destroy anything within a 5 mile radius." Seeing that Iruka was no longer interested in the weapon, he moved on to the next weapon, but none seemed to catch his attention.

Arnold growled, this would be the first time he would be unable to make a sale to fools willing to spend their money. This upset him greatly, but noticed something after taking a good look at the young man. This man did not seem like a person that indulges in destruction or chaos. Arnold smirked, and took him to another section, which had an especially rare item that has the ability to heal people. Iruka followed the older male with a tired sigh, wishing to escape from the unwanted company.

Arnold tried to help him make a purchase, wanting his pay check to increase with every sale he made. "How about something like this?" Arnold pointed to a pendant. Iruka gave him a glare, his patience wearing thin. "Look, this is not an ordinary piece of jewelry," Arnold assured. Iruka's eyebrow twitched, but managed to force a smile on his angered face. "How so?" he hissed out.

'"This precious pendant comes from the mysterious land of Egypt, and has the ability to heal people with one touch." Iruka just snorted but took a look at it. It was a beautiful piece actually. It was the Eye of Horus that stared back at him, surrounded by a silver circular frame, with had other symbols of Egypt religion etched onto it. Connected to the piece of jewelry, was a silver snake chain that held it up. "It is a sight to behold," he commented ion a low voice. Arnold had grin, his eyes holding a dangerous light. "But I still don't believe that it has the power to heal." Arnold growled lowly, growing frustrated with his customer.

"But it does," he persisted. Iruka growled at him, he hated being lied to. "Prove it," he challenged with a fierce glare, a glare he usually reserved for his unruly students. Arnold hesitated for a second, and then nodded before he scanned the room. Sensing that the coast was clear, he took out a knife from a hidden pocket of his jeans, and slid the knife over his right wrist.

_'He's left-handed,'_ Iruka observed with horrified eyes, struggling to look away as the older man tore open his flesh and as the blood began to drip down to the floor. "Now watch," Arnold commanded in a husky voice, and Iruka's hawk eyes latched onto the pendant in Arnold's tight grip.

Arnold attached the pendant to his wound, and for a moment everything was silent. For seconds nothing happened, and Arnold shook his head in irritation. "I forgot to mention you have to add chakra into the damn thing," he hissed out. Iruka remained silent and kept watching as chakra flooded the pendant and soon enough, after a moment, the wound, what use to be a large bleeding slit, was now closed. It looked as if the crazy salesman never had silted his arm, except for the blood left behind. "Do you believe me now?" Arnold said with a smug smile. Iruka scolded but nodded his head.

The salesman handed over the pendant, that to his surprise, was not smeared with blood. He almost smiled, until he remembered the bothersome man before him. "Thank for the brining my attention to this item," he commented, forcing his kindest smile onto his face. Arnold just smirked. "No, thank you for making my paycheck a little fatter with you purchase." Iruka smirked dangerously, "and who ever said I was making a purchase." Arnold stood there, planted to his spot as Iruka walked away from him.

Kakashi had watched the entire interaction with amusement. But he had a bad feeling about the scolding salesman… maybe he should keep an eye on that man, if he ever sees him again.

Sakura, along with Sasuke, Naruto, and Tora, was now in the weapon section. The section where Iruka had previously roamed. While the pink haired brat was busy marveling and imagining wielding some of the weapons being sold, Naruto was busy studying the weapons, asking himself questions, , and who could train him. Sasuke was doing the same, as for the princess…. she was just bored. The sight of weapons usually made her glow with some kind of happiness, always itching for a new strategy or thing to defeat her enemy or make her stronger. Something to put her village on top, make them climb the ladder of power even further. But all the weapons, even the rare ones were old news to her. Her village already had them, distributed among the students, and civilians, for protection. All of who were taught to properly wield them, in case the royals were unable to protect them, they could protect themselves. She really wondered why the other villages didn't do that, it made everyone safer. But then again, her villagers were loyal to the royal family, and actually lived in harmony. She truly was grateful for the life she was living, but outsiders, people outside her village, treated her like she was a child, a little priceless delicate doll. She hated the title of princess, and she would only use this title to make her enemies feel beneath her. She even used it to get her way on rare occasions. But still it didn't change the fact she hated the word with every fiber in her being.

She looked over at Naruto, he was a young lad with a lot to learn. He was also the easiest person to communicate with. Sasuke didn't seem to care about her title either, but he was more anti social than her older brother and that was saying something. Actually starch that, no one can be as anti-social as Sesshomaru, that socially retarded fool. Tora sighed, clutching the corner of her shirt. She missed her village, and they seemed to be taking too long to get to her destination, not to mention she still had a bad feeling about this trip.

She let her eyes roam over the weapons in boredom. She saw clubs, bows and arrow, swords, axes, arrowheads, spearheads, and so on. None of them could make her eyes light up in happiness like they use to. She let her hands roam over the already memorized weapons, letting a smile play on her face as she remembered the days of her youth. The days when she used to train with her mother, when her family was still happy and not secretly miserable. Another sigh escaped. This routine was getting old as were the memories of the death of her mother, who was once a lowly servant. A lowly servant who had become a Queen, then a mother, then a disgrace to her only daughter. Tora growled inside her head, and her grip on the tanto, an Asian blade tightened, until it cut into her finger tips. "I hate you," she harshly spat at the memory of her mother.

Then she grew silent, and dispatched her fingers from the blade. Using a ancient spell, the blade was once again shining, no blood in sight on the sword or from the once bleeding finger tips. Tora sighed and put her healed fingers in her pocket and walked away, as if nothing happened. No one witnessed her mini breakdown besides the cold weapons.

* * *

For those who are reading this, sorry for being late on updating.. again, but now that summer is here, the only thing stopping me would be my laziness and writer's block. This chapter has not seen a beta, and please note I do not care about time line. You see, some of th weapons I mention or will mention was invented long after the ninja era... but I just put it there for my amusement. So don't bring that up. The chapter is: 3,585 without the recap or AN in the start or end of chapter. I think that should make ya happy... for now. Imma try to add in some action doe I suck at those type of scenes. But I'll try for ya. Much love: Roxy aka Tiger159


	15. Snakes Hate Tigers

"Either it was someone with knowledge in medicine or poisons. Maybe both... Doesn't matter much now since this place has been vacant for a long time." Quickly glaring at him, she added, "Seeing as there hasn't been any recent chakra signs, or any visible clues of human activity." Naruto nodded, shifting his weight.

**The Crimson phoenix and its angel aka My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**Me: **OK...Tiger Yuki's name has been changed to **Tora **(it's Japanese version). My user name is still Tiger159 and just so we are clear, I don't put myself in the stories -_-

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ANGST, Some HORROR, ETC. I would like to** thank my** **betas** for the wonderful jobs they do on all my stories.

Akemiko aka Ake-chan and Tsukiko belong to living laughing dead. The other anime characters do not belong to me either. But the Yuki's do (The blond triplets and Arashi). And so does Bloody Red (Rose).

* * *

Recap of Last Chapter:

_She let her eyes roam over the weapons in boredom. She saw clubs, bows and arrow, swords, axes, arrowheads, spearheads, and so on. None of them could make her eyes light up in happiness like they use to. She let her hands roam over the already memorized weapons, letting a smile play on her face as she remembered the days of her youth. The days when she used to train with her mother, when her family was still happy and not secretly miserable. Another sigh escaped. This routine was getting old as were the memories of the death of her mother, who was once a lowly servant. A lowly servant who had become a Queen, then a mother, then a disgrace to her only daughter. Tora growled inside her head, and her grip on the tanto, an Asian blade tightened, until it cut into her finger tips. "I hate you," she harshly spat at the memory of her mother. Then she grew silent, and dispatched her fingers from the blade. Using a ancient spell, the blade was once again shining, no blood in sight on the sword or from the once bleeding finger tips. Tora sighed and put her healed fingers in her pocket and walked away, as if nothing happened. No one witnessed her mini breakdown besides the cold weapons._

* * *

They had left the village the next morning, only stopping to restock on supplies and on their energy. They continued in silence, no one daring to speak, once again each one was warped up in their own thoughts. None of them which were pure, but filled with darkness. They kept walking, ignoring their hurting feet and feasting in their leftover food, which was quickly running out. They hoped the food would hold over until the next village, or else they were screwed.

"Can we take a break?" Sakura asked with a raspy voice, her throat sore from being denied any source of liquid. Sighing, the ninjas decided one pit stop wouldn't hurt, they were wrong.

Once everyone had settled down, let their guards down, even for a microsecond, that was when the attackers came. Taking their chance to weaken the assigned ninjas of Princess Tora, their main target. Each attacker had carefully hidden their appearance, wearing black clothing and masks. Tora didn't even flinch, and told the Konoha soldiers to stand their ground, and leave it up to her.

"But you're not a ninja!" Sakura had shouted in confusion, and was slightly put off by the crazed smirk on Princess Tora's delicate looking face.

"In my village, everyone is required to take some amount of training, for their protection. Being of royal blood does not excuse you from the requirement," Tora announced with a rehearsed tone. She slowly walked forward, her head held high and her hollow eyes set in a glare. The thieves only grinned, thinking that the battle was going to be quick. Stepping into their own fighting formation, they began to attack.

"She's a stubborn one isn't she?" whispered a low voice filled with mirth. The person chuckled to them self, finally finding entertainment after decades of boredom. The Konoha nins could only watch in horror as the princess was assaulted by the batch of enemies.

For a moment everything seemed to stand still before the bodies of their enemies fell to the ground in pieces.

In the center of the circle of bodies stood the princess, blood soaking her once clean clothing. In her hands she held two kunais connected to wires. She smiled softly at the ninjas and with a cynical giggle of glee she asked, "Can we go now?" Dumbstruck they continued to walk, keeping their distance from the obviously unstable girl.

Tora hummed a high beat song, her feet skipping to its beat. Twirl after twirl was made and the blood fell from her clothes to the ground like it was just ordinary water. "Princess, is there anything else you need to tell us before we go on?" Kakashi insisted, not wanting to put his team in further danger than necessary.

Tora hummed, her feet still moving in a dance like motion. With one last twirl she came to a sudden halt and said with a no nonsense tone "NO."

"Look, you were given the simple assignment to guard me from village to village. If you knew you couldn't handle the assignment then why take it? Better yet, if you can't handle the assignment, I'll do it myself. Seeing as I am more than capable of taking care of myself then all of ya combined." The smile on her face sent chills down some spines. "I don't tolerate failure."

Kakashi's shoulders stiffen, his gaze growing colder as he stared at the dried up blood on her smiling face. She was beginning to become one of his most irksome client.

-####################################################################################################

"What do you mean they failed my sweet pet?" The voice hissed out, the snake like tone causing the messenger to stiffen in fear.

"Forgive me master but it seems your new toys were unable to complete their mission." A pause, a kick, a hiss.

"Kabuto, are you insulting my abilities to create suitable experiments to do jobs you can't even complete with all the chakra and brains in the world?" Kabuto remained on his knees, his hands griping onto the broken ribs on his right side. With a pained smile he shook his head as quickly as possible.

"Good, because if you had, I would have had to test out my skills on you."

"Forgive me my Lord."

"You are dismissed."

"Yes Lord Orichimaru."

-####################################################################################################

Naruto locked his arms around his knees in a futile effort to protect him from the strong gusts of winds.

Rocking himself back and forth, he closed his eyes and tried to make the pain go away. His mind raced, thoughts going in different directions, each one contradicting themselves against the other. He was going insane. He took in another shaky breath, his eyes closing, his ears listening to the banging rain against the window. A loud sound blasted through the sky, a flash of white dancing in the rain. Naruto cringed, his hands slapping against his ears, trying to frown out the lightning. He growled, the sound becoming lost to the world as thunder roared. He wrapped his arms around himself, burying his head into his sleeves, his blond locks brushing against the window. His eyes turned towards the bed, wanting nothing more than to hide under the covers as if his life depended on it, just like when he was a child. Shaking his head harder, he turned back to the rain, droplets sneaking in through the cracks with ease, wetting his orange jacket.

With another shaky breath, he began to hum, a sweet little lullaby Iruka had sang to him. He looked around again, skipping over a sleeping Sasuke, Iruka, and Kakashi. They had been traveling a few days with little to no rest. They had found an abandoned building and decided to stay the night, however, they will set off at sunrise.

His body shifted bit by bit, shaking the numbness away, wanting nothing more than to tear the fear away from his memory. He escaped out the door, his heart beating harder and faster as another flash of lightning lit the hallways for a quick moment. The building was old, the wooden floor creaking under the weight of a human. Walking carefully passed the rooms that contained his other partners, he dashed towards the backyard. Though he had a fear of thunder and sometimes even lightning, he did adore the rain. He might get in trouble from this or even sick, but at the moment he didn't care. He just wanted to wash his troubles away. He danced in the rain as red eyes watched with fascination.

##############################

He awoke under a wooden shelf, his eyes clouded by the thick fog. It must have been a couple of hours of sleep he had gotten, maybe even fewer than that. His shirt clung to his chest, his jacket was soaked and his pants threatened to fall off his hips thanks to all the water it absorbed. Maybe it was a stupid idea to dance in the rain.

With a goofy grin, he got up, his head bumping against the shelf, in turn making a book fall on his head. With a grunt, he picked it up and took a good look at it. It was an old small book covered in dust and moist droplets. Yellow pages stuck out, exposed ink dripping off the page in black rivers. The damaged corners and loose stitching made the book like as if it was going to crumble if he opened it up any further. And it would most likely will. He put it back on the shelf, his eyes roaming the shelves of damaged books and empty flower pots. Leather covers, damaged pages, dripping ink, spilled soil and withered flower petals met his eyes. He shook his head and headed back inside, however, he went back outside to begin reading. Everyone was still sleeping, so why not? It was a good way to waste time.

Book after book was read, all ranging from mythology to seals to the anatomy. Each page was delicately turned, eyes devouring each word. The rays of the sun turned the sky into a dish of orange, red, and yellow.

"You ready to go?" the voice made him jumped. He whirled around, seeing the sassy smile of the princess, dressed in a black kimono. He nodded, rushing to put the books back. He went back inside, but noticed that no one else was up so he gathered his things and went into the kitchen. A small plate of rice and fish was handed towards him, delivered to him with a feather soft smile and crystal cold eyes. He ate his meal quietly, wishing for ramen to fill his stomach, but it had to do.

He knew that he had to eat and now he had no other choice but to spend time with the princess, since he was the only one awake. It was his job to protect her.

He washed the plate and passed it over to the girl, watching her delicate hands grip at the small thing. It was quite amusing, not any of the civilians could really understand how hands so small, so_ delicate _could cause so much damage. Could spread blood, could even possibly kill someone. But then again, they must have forgotten it was human nature. He began to pace around the kitchen, sensing that she sat down in a weak chair. He stared at her from the corner of his eyes and grimaced at the glare she threw him.

"Is there something on my face?" she hissed, her hands crossed across her chest, her black dress shaking for a moment. It didn't match the color of her mood but it sure mimicked the motion of it.

He quickly shook his head, knowing better than to anger a client. He had no right and plus it was bad for business. The Hokage would murder him, especially since a peace treaty rested on this mission. Tora just hummed in annoyance, her fingers tapping against the surface of the table, soaked damaged wood rubbing off on her finger tips.

He heard shuffling again and watched as she moved around the room, taking out knives from drawers and herbs from jars.

"Someone with knowledge of medicine had lived here," she muttered lowly, sealing things away.

"How do you know?" She didn't even bother to glare at him, but the harsh tone she didn't bother to conceal showed her anger. She didn't like Konoha nins and being doubted by outsiders. Naruto just so happen to be both. Damn his dreaded luck.

"The jars are carefully labeled with plant names. Most of these plants are not commonly used in meals, but for healing and killing." She carefully held up a leaf, her calculating eyes drilling him.

"This is an Oleander leaf. It is extremely poisonous. Affects the heart, produces severe digestive upset and has caused death. Now tell me Mr. Uzumaki, would you dare eat this?" He shook his head.

"The person that lived here was either a person with knowledge on medicine or poisons, or both. Maybe both... Doesn't matter much now since this place has been vacant for for some time now." Quickly glaring at him, she added, "Seeing as there is no recent chakra lingering or any visible signs of recent human activity." He nodded, shifting his weight.

She seemed to finally be finished and sat back down, the seat threatening to give out on her. Having nothing else to do, he went outside and sealed the books, wanting some kind of entertainment for the next few days. He found a book under the spilled and moist soil, and took it to the princess. She hummed when she saw it and a cruel, perverse smile had formed on her delicate face.

Naruto noted, that everything about her seemed delicate, like a priceless proclaim doll. Her looks made her enemies underestimate her and that worked to her advantage, all the damn time in battle.

"I found some senbon needles and a bottle of dried poison and crushed sedatives. I think a ninja lived here and like I suspected, was a master at both those things. A library of scrolls filled with research, notes and drafts of drawings and paintings have been found. I have sealed them and are now in my bag. I could have used my body as a storage container but it seemed like too much work at the time."

He didn't bother pointing out how individually taking the items and storing them was enough work in itself and then transporting them into another location. If he was her, he would have used his body as a storage bin, and not have to bother with the extra weight. But he didn't question her and he knew she had thought of this. Most likely then not, she would do that later when she was alone again.

"Everyone is up and ready to roll," she whispered, snatching the book from his grasp.

"They're waiting up front." He nodded and met up with the others, the princess in toll with a blank expression.

The group walked for hours without incident and without words. Naruto had never been a friend of silence, it always brought him bad things. The horrific thoughts threatening to flood his mind, was stabbed with a knife. He didn't have time for an emotional breakdown. He might mess up the mission. He didn't want to be blamed, like he was for everything for most of his life... if not all.

It would only take a day or two to reach their destination, something that made Tora smile with glee. _'She must not enjoy our company,'_ he thought. He never did ask her why she hated them. Or maybe he did... he had such horrible memory.

It was already noon when they arrived at a town, another town where the princess was rather well known. However, she seemed liked and welcomed, meaning they were welcomed as well. However, they were liked on a lesser level, thanks to her hatred towards them. Ugh, this mission just gets better and better. If they kept going, they would be able to be at the Village of Roses by the morning, however, Sakura had twisted her ankle thanks to an earlier attack. Not to mention, everyone was harmed in their own way. Gashes, cuts, bruises, etc. They needed medical attention.

"Tora Yuki," came a low hiss from the shadows.

"It is such a pleasure to see you," Tora rolled her eyes and folded her delicate arms. She didn't seemed pleased at all.

"Yes godfather Sankey?" There was a grunt followed by another low hiss before a figure emerged from the shadows.

And that was when their little innocent mission to escort the princess went straight to hell. For the exiled sanin of Konoha had revealed himself.

"Orichimaru," Kakashi spat, his one visible eye set in a glare. The man just flashed him a twisted grin, his eyes filled with mirth as millions of calculations and ideas popped into his head with one look at the ex-AMBU leader.

Shit was about to go down.


	16. Family, Punishment and Decisions

**My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN/Make money from it**

**Me: **There are many things to come, seeing as I have the urge to move this story along quickly due to my lack of updating. I am aware I am very crappy at that. Sorry, in all honesty, I know how it is like thinking the author gave up or forgotten, until they post up a new chapter and your hope is revived again. Then it falls into a cycle. And on more than one occasion, I had to restart the whole story to know what the fuck I'm reading. But I digress.

Akatsuki will show up in future chapters, Orochimaru is important, I will shed light on the others who were assigned the mission that I apparently forgot about (Don't look at me that way!), Team 7 undergoes construction. ETC. I can't tell you everything now can I? Oh and the characters that belong to laughing living dead will reappear soon enough.

Suggestions are welcomed as well as beautiful reviews and the occasional concern. I am open for almost anything.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), LARGE AMOUNTS OF BASHING, CURSING, OOC, ANGST, Some HORROR, ETC.

Akemiko aka Ake-chan and Tsukiko belong to living laughing dead. The other anime characters do not belong to me either. But the Yuki's do (The blond triplets and Arashi). And so does Bloody Red (Rose).

No one has beta this chapter because I don't want to waste their times and the fact Yahoo hates me -_-

* * *

Recap of Last Chapter:

_And that was when their little innocent mission to escort the princess went straight to hell. For the exiled sanin of Konoha had revealed himself._

_"Orochimaru," Kakashi spat, his one visible eye set in a glare. The man just flashed him a twisted grin, his eyes filled with mirth as millions of calculations and ideas popped into his head with one look at the ex-AMBU leader._

_Shit was about to go down._

_-(1)-_

**Family, punishment and decisions. **

There were times Naruto wished he wasn't who he was. Times when he wished he wasn't Naruto, but someone else, someone better. Someone with a loving family. Someone who wasn't an outcast, someone who wasn't aware of internal suffering. Of death. Someone who wasn't weak.

These were one of those times.

Watching everyone get hurt and not being able to do anything, killed him inside. The cruel laughter of the snake man sent shivers down his spine, freezing him with fear. He fucking hated it. It felt harder to breathe as he watched Orochimaru approach, eyes slited and filled with mirth.

"Godfather Snaky, leave the poor people alone." Tora's low voice shattered his world of fear and he was able to regain his confidence to avoid an attack.

The man stilled, just a small bit of furrowing his brows was all that was needed to show his anger.

"Don't worry little one, you're next," he hissed out.

Naruto growled and took out his weapon, wanting nothing more but to rip the guy in half. It was his job to protect the princess. It was his job to protect everyone and he would not fail!

"Naruto, back down. I can fight my own battles," Tora harshly spat out, but he could sense her pain. Her pain of having to betray family. The same family member who betrayed her. Family meant everything to her. It was all she had left.

Orochimaru grinned, something a keen to a sword appearing in his hand. Tora sighed, taking out two swords, she wanted this to be a fair fight. But sadly, the evil snake man didn't fight fair.

In a moments notice, he appeared in front of her, the tip of the blade brushing against flesh as she avoided his attack.

Naruto wanted to do something. Needed to do something. He heard Kakashi cough, blood trickling down his face from the earlier incident. When the damn snake sannin used his snakes to attack them all, each serpent bigger then the last. Of course he didn't use his biggest snake, his summon. Orochimaru didn't have the 100 bodies needed.

He watched as Tora tried her best to hold him off, years of training and control carefully turning the fight into a dance. She began to hum a tune, dark and low as her sword cut into his arm. Her eyes were vacant of any emotion, her hands steady and precise with each cut. Snakes flowed from the village around them, which had been left when the fight began.

The princess would not be welcomed there anymore. They all knew it. She was a safety hazard.

He ran to Sakura, lying on the ground, almost lifeless except for the slow rise of her chest. He needed to get everyone to safety.

"Naruto," rasped his sensi, a coughing fit following.

"Take Sakura and Sasuke as far away from here, and don't come back. I'll send a dog when I need to find you. If you don' see one in the next few hours, go straight to the village. Warn them of the snake."

Naruto wanted to shake his head, but he had no other choice but to listen. He was hurt, Sakura was on death's doorstep and Sasuke was knocked out cold. He needed the guidance. He took one more look at his sensei and the fight taking place in front of them, destroying an entire village.

Without wasting anymore time, he left, two bodies weighing him down. Sakura with her weak and bruised arm wrapped around his neck, her weight barely noticeable against his back. Sasuke on the other hand, was slightly heavy in his arms and with their weight combined, he moved slowly.

That just wouldn't do for the Sanin.

"Where do you think you're going?" he heard the whisper near his neck, Sakura whimpering in agony as the blade was thrust into her back. He ran faster, Orochimaru behind him, watching with an amused smile.

"Oro," Tora spat, blood spilling from cuts that he caused. He laughed at her, enjoying the fact that her clothes were soaked with the red liquid.

She grinned back, swords turning into one deadly weapon. One that only the reaper, the very bringer of death, could have.

She was the death that would be bestowed him. She could feel it in her bones. Kakashi watched in horror as he saw her flesh begin to melt away, followed by the falling of muscles and blood. Nothing but bones was left, internal organs no longer contained. You couldn't even tell if that was her.

"Orochimaru, my sweet godfather." Her voice was so dark and laced with ill intentions, if she still had eyes, they would be filled with laughter. Instead, they were laying on the ground, all the things that made up who she was, encased in a dark transparent bubble. It began to rise until it was out of sight and out of harms way.

"It is time to meet your maker." She sped forward, bones rattling in the wind, scythe in both hands. Orochimaru avoided it with his own attack, but he soon grew tired of playing around.

-(1)-

Naruto ran as fast as he could through the forest, his body aching for rest, but he couldn't. He needed to go further, he needed to at least be able to keep his team safe.

However, the figure before him preventing him from completing his task.

Fucking asshole.

If only they hadn't separated into teams earlier, to survey the area, right before they were attacked. It was a stupid idea.

At least they would make it back to protect sensei. Unless they were already being attacked. Damn his fucking luck. Damn all their luck.

The man in front of him smiled, glasses glinting under the sun, senbon needles held in a tentative grip.

Naruto didn't have time for this bullshit. He didn't have time to waste when Sakura was barely breathing and blood was spilling down her back. She didn't have time to watch them fight if she was dying. He would have no one's blood on his hands. Not today, not ever.

He quickly made shadow clones, watching them as they took his teammates to safety. The other male just smirked, throwing needles their way, but was avoided as they sped away.

The blond grinned, his arms crossed behind his neck in a carefree gesture.

"What's your name?" His hands barely moved, but the kunais in his hands cutting into his flesh.

"Kabuto," he answered, stepping forward. Before he could, Naruto lunged forward, eyes turning a darker shade of blue as anger surged through him.

-(1)-

Tora decided that she wasn't having as much fun as intended, so she decided to switch the game up a bit.

"Oro, would you care for another dance?" She didn't wait for him to answer, she knew he wouldn't. She hummed another song, more upbeat and happy then the previous one. Her movements fluid, quick and calculating against his precise and equally quick attacks.

"You gotten rusty," he muttered as he landed an attacker against her ribs, almost breaking one off.

"And you gotten older." Her body disappeared in a field of smoke. Orochimaru grunted in disbelief. He knew her so well, he should have known she was nothing more then a mere clone.

His eyes took in his surrondings, careful of his next move. He didn't want to get caught up in her tricks, especially in one of her nasty little traps.

"Too late for that!" Came the squeal. Immediately, a purple light came from below, a seal to be exact before the ground opened up to a portal. Hands, pale and more bone then flesh grabbed hold on his legs, puilling him down. The part of his body that went through the portal went numb, slowly skin began to chip away like rust, muscles becoming useless as they died.

In his rarely seen state of desperation, he made sign after sign, to escape. It would have worked if his hands had not become parazlyed at his sides.

"Godfather, it is a shame we had to meet under these circumstances _once _again." Tora began, her body slowly starting to rebuild, layer by layer. It wasn't a sight for the weak stomached.

Orochimaru grunted, envying the way she could do that. "Now, you stole something of mine and I want it back." The sickly sweet smile of hers fortold what would happen if he didn't.

He grunted again, rolling his eyes in annoyance before a smirk bloomed. She hated those expressions on his face. That damn sick bastard!

"I don't have it." She looked at him closely, eyes analyzing him before raising her hand, as if to snap her fingers. The motion of snapping brought great pain as the hands from the portal began to move again, a vine slightering its way through and onto his body. It began to dig into his skin, thorns causing blood to spill.

"Your pet must have it then?" Orochimaru shook his head again, tsking at his goddaughter's lack of skills.

"And here I thought you grown. You're just as stupid and useless as you were when I left you." The princess rolled her eyes, not even giving him the pleasure of answering him. She quickly made a clone to fetch Kabuto, that stupid little bug needed to be dealt with.

-(1)-

He could hardly breathe, the pain in his chest becoming too much for him. His insides hurt and his arms were numb. He tried to slow down his breathing, knowing if he breathed in too quick or too deep his chest wil begin to hurt.

He should have been more careful. He should have been smarter and faster than him. But he wasn't. Everytime he moved, Kabuto moved faster. Everything he did, Kabuto did better. Naruto hissed as the weight of the ninja sandal connected with his chest. It fucking hurt like hell.

Kabuto stood above him, putting pressure on the broken ribs. He wiped the blood from his mouth before tending to his wounds. He almost laughed at the little brat underneath him. How could this child think he would be able to overpower him? Netherless win of all things? He was Orochimaru's assistant for crying out loud! It was a position that didn't come easy and he worked for it. He sure as hell wasn't going to let a snot nosed brat like him destroy his progress.

If he had failed, he knew he would have regretted it.

Stupid children needed to learn their place and Naruto would be able to take that lesson to his grave. When finally healed, he took out a kunai with a rusted dull tip. It didn't look like much but Kabuto knew better. The weapon was just sharp enough to dig into flesh and the rust would infect the cut, spreading bacteria and killing the idiot. A fitting death for such a small useless creature.

He hunched his back, a cruel smirk forming as Naruto struggled underneath him. His efforts were futile of course and the boy was only hurting himself. Kabuto held the weapon to the tan neck, watching it as it cut into flesh with barely any pressure. The chakra he sent into the kunai made it sharpen and with that, he went in for the kill.

The cut was clean and precise, something he was quite proud of. The silver headed man watched in surpressed glee as the blood continued to flow like a waterfall. The blood to both sides of his neck, gravity directing it to the ground. He took his foot off the body, no longer moving or breathing. He looked into blue eyes, dull and hollow. The skin of the now decompossing flesh paling.

He smiled to himself, happiness spreading through him at such an easy kill. He turned on his heel in persuit of his master. The man was amazing in every term of the word when he fought, but even he still got harmed. If he didn't, Kabuto would be even more useless to him and would have been killed ages ago.

When he turned, a smiling copy of the princess had just arrived. With a cold smile she greeted him, a shuriken appearing in her hand. He grunted in annoyance, not even being able to appreciate her look of horror at what he had done to the Konoha nin.

"Kabuto, you are under arrest and I am your judge. I deny you a trial and condem you guilty of the following crimes," she began, moving closer to him.

"Thief," a swipe to the upper arm.

"Accessory to murder," a deep cut to the leg.

"First degree murder," a kick to the chest.

"Illegal experimentation," a kick to the groin, that sent him into a tree.

"And for being an asshole." Two swipes to the leg and arm, both deep cuts that bleed heavily.

"Your penalty...is death!" She screamed as hands emerged from the tree behind him. At first he thought it was a genjutsu, but it couldn't want to be dispelled. The princess kept smiling, growing gleeful at his incoming panic.

"You are to serve your sentence even through death. You will become the slave to the master of the Underworld: the Shinigami." And with that, his life began to flash before his eyes. Hands gripped tightly into him, his knowledge of medics not able to help him. The muscles in the hand would not become numb or paralyzed. Maybe because they should have been that way since the hands belonged to dead bodies.

His face was set in an emotionless mask, not wanting to give the sastifaction to the princess. She was a sadist that had no business getting off on his discomfort or pain.

He quickly made seals behind him, trying his best to keep his hands away from the corpses around him. His body was replaced, a popping sound followed the sight of smoke, clearing up to show a stump of wood.

The clone of the princess eyes turned cold, deactivating the gateway to the Underworld. She was unhappy and she'll be damn if he got out alive. Fuck the consequences.

"Oh little bug!" She chimed, a sword appearing from thin air and into her awaiting palm.

"Let's play life or death. The rules are simple, everything pretty much goes. Only one person will walk out alive and of course, you don't have an option to not play," she grunted out, not thinking it as cheating if she was only a mere clone. Her real self will show up at one point or another to complete the kill if she failed.

She hummed a slow tune, feet dancing to the low sound, sword twirling in her hand at the prospect of a kill. She looked at the ground where Naruto's body should have been, only to see nothing. She knew his body couldn't have been taken by the Sound traitor so she presummed he was either a clone or Kyuubi had saved his ass.

It wasn't a surprise to know he had a demon, seeing as she was a once container of one herself. Plus it was a dead giveaway when he had received a deep gash earlier, only for it to heal in mere moments. No one seemed to notice or maybe they were use to it. She shook her head, a dark smile blooming before her figure shunshined away.

It wouldn't do for her prey to get away.

-(1)-

Naruto felt lucky for his thrust for knowledge and power, knowing it was the only thing that had saved his ass as he tended to his wounded team mates.

Sasuke was still knocked out, his chest lifting in a steady movement. Sakura on the other hand was burning up, panting as she shivered and moaned in her sleep. At least her back had stopped gushing blood thanks to an ointment given to him by Hinata. That Hyuuga sure was nice and useful, she could make a great medic nin one day.

He leaned into a tree, hands gripping onto a damp cloth and laying it on the pink haired girl's forehead. Thankfully there had been a stream above and if there wasn't, he would have to use the little remaining water they had. And it wouldn't even last one wetting of a towel.

He soothed the wrinkles in her forehead as best as he called between each replacement of the cloth. He was never good at taking care of others, hell he wasn't even able to really look after himself. But he managed. Of course, he had Kyuubi and Sakura didn't have her own demon to heal her. Naruto sighed, wondering when Kakashi would come to aid them. He hoped the man was alive.

Of course, they were all aware they would have to abort the mission after this. It was too dangerous with an insane snake obsessed sannin on the loose. Especially if they were after Naruto or Sasuke. Or the princess who had a family bond. He didn't need to worry about that, seeing the cold and distant relationship they shared. Still, better safe than sorry. His life's motto.

The blond grew silent at hearing a twig snap in the far distance, readying himself for an attack. It couldn't be any of the clones he sent out so it was either an ally or enemy. He couldn't take his chances. He moved from his spot, beckoning a clone over to watch over his fallen team. He neared his possible target, only to spot a small dog. _Kakashi's _dog with a scroll attached to it.

He had taken the scroll, the dog ushering away in moments, not bothering to be of any more use.

It informed him that his sensei was coming for him, that he just needed to hang on a bit longer. He heard his clone pop and he ran towards his teammates, spotting the princess.

"I'm clone princess number 2. I am here to check the status of your location and condition. All are alive but not all are well." She scanned Sasuke first, hands glowing green as she touched his forehead.

"He shall awake in a few minutes, fully healed and ready for combat." She moved on to Sakura, scanning her with her cold blue eyes.

Her hands grew green once again, touching the damp forehead of the child.

"Her wound got infected, she has a slight fever. Her chakra coils are low so please be careful, but her bones in her arm have realigned themselves. She will awake healthy as the other one, her wound healing up at a rapid pace. It will take longer for her to wake through, so beware."

He nodded. Sakura's breathing was normal and Sasuke was stirring. The clone walked over to him, scanned him, sending a chill at the weird feeling before she confirmed his condition.

"Wounded, small cuts that could get bacterial infection and numb muscles from an earlier attack." The green light flowed over him, any pain or aches he felt before washing away from him.

"Fully healed. Another clone has been sent to look after the rest of the team members. I am to stay here for protection purposes, no protests or questions about it. The princess herself is okay, clone number 1 is still messing with the bug."

A look of confusion followed by understanding took over his face. "Kabuto," she nodded.

"The orginal princess is watching over Orochimaru but might be having some problems." She paused, her eyes turning red before returning to frosty blue.

"It seems my creator is being jumped by several ex-Sound nins. I have been requested to stay here. Well, ordered actually, seeing as I have a duty to protect my master."

Naruto nodded, frowning at feeling so useless. He decided to make some clones, blood or seal clones to help protect the princess like she had tried to do for him. He hoped that was enough.

-(1)-

Kakashi grunted in pain as the metal object moved further into his arm and shoulder. He shouldn't even be here damn it! He should be watching over his team, his kids and yes he said his kids cause that's what the fuck they were. And fuck anyone else that said otherwise. He was supposed to be protecting them from harm, not leave them on their own to face enemies they couldn't handle on their own.

Fuck, how the hell did they get to this point? Why was this all happening now of all times? What did the damn snake want from them anyway? Sasuke? The princess? Anko? Kyuubi?

Damn it all to hell, he was tired and angry and he was getting reckless. These duchbags, useless Sound nin were going to die today. Fuck the paperwork, he needed to take his anger out on someone, might as well be them. He would enjoy the feeling of their blood on his hands today. And he will take great joy at their screams, and with a hidden smirk under his mask, he sped off. Tearing through bodies like the wind, corpses falling like nothing. Because that's what they were, nothing. Scum. Garbage.

But they weren't his problem anymore. His kids needed him. He sped through the trees, weaving his body as he tried to focus on the familiar chakra signals of his students.

_There._

He quickly approached Naruto, watching briefly as Sasuke rose from his sleeping position in confusion.

Seeing his sensei, alive and moving made Naruto smile, but he resisted the urge to throw himself at him when he spotted the blood.

Clone 2 healed him immediately, a green aura soothing away his troubles.

"Six broken ribs, a concussion, a broken shoulder and damaged wrist. All healed. Bones are realigning themselves as I speak, it will hurt like hell and it will look like hell." Kakashi grunted in agreement, feeling the bones shift beneath his skin. He didn't question the action, too grateful of his subsiding wounds.

"Your chakra coils are dangerously low, I have replenished them for you. Please no questions," she dismissed his curious look, busying herself with his body.

"My master, the original royal is in trouble. Clones have been sent out to assist her, please aide her. Naruto and I haven sent clones to find the others, it is too dangerous to leave the others.

Sasuke was now up, his hand twitching.

"What the hell is going on?" he growled.

The clone answered. "We are under attack by a crazed sanin. We have been separated into groups for an easy kill. You and your team were harmed, Naruto saved your ass. Understand?" At the annoyed nod she calmed down.

"Did you sent a message to the Hokage?" Kakashi nodded, rolling his now patched up shoulder.

"Good, now let's either find the others or get to safer ground." The silver haired man paused, stuck between protecting his miniature family or protecting his fellow co-workers.

"Go, I will stay with them." Sasuke made a motion to follow him but was ordered to stay.

"Protect them." And with that, Kakashi disappeared with the wind, leaves undisturbed by the sudden movement. The clone moved them to higher and further ground.

"We stakeout here until someone comes for us. Backup might come or it may not. Until then all we have is each other," Tora's clone announced, carrying the smaller body of the female.

"She will up up in mere moments, just give her time. In the mean while, Naruto send out a clone or two to collect wood, Sasuke you can use your fire jutsu to contribute to the camp fire." She settled the girl down on the ground of a isolated cave.

"Now." Naruto did as told and collected what was needed. Sasuke did his part, muttering a quick **Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu.**

A fire was lit up, shadowing the slumbering face of Sakura.

"Let me teach you a neat trick," the clone began with a small smile as Sakura awoke, confused but soon fell into the same boat with the others. No one got left behind this time.

* * *

I am so sorry for punishing my lovely readers with such horribly written action. Please keep reading, it will all be over soon (the horrible horrible action).


	17. Attack of the Snakes

**My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN or Make money from it**

**Me: **There are many things to come, seeing as I have the urge to move this story along quickly due to my lack of updating. I am aware I am very crappy at that. Sorry, in all honesty, I know how it is like thinking the author gave up or forgotten the story, until they post up a new chapter and your hope is revived again. Then it falls into a cycle. And on more than one occasion, I had to restart the whole story to know what the fuck I'm reading. But I digress.

Akatsuki will show up in future chapters, Orochimaru is important, I will shed light on the others who were assigned the mission that I apparently forgot about (Don't look at me that way!), Team 7 undergoes construction. ETC. I can't tell you everything now can I? Oh and the characters that belong to laughing living dead will reappear soon enough.

Suggestions are welcomed as well as beautiful reviews and the occasional concern. I am open for almost anything.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), bashing, CURSING, OOC, ANGST, Some HORROR, ETC.

Disclaimer: Akemiko aka Ake-chan and Tsukiko belong to living laughing dead. The other anime characters do not belong to me either. But the Yuki's do (The blond triplets and Arashi). And so does Bloody Red (Rose/Mika).

I seriously had a hard time thinking of their outfits, I know a silly and pointless thing to be stuck on...but I made the extra effort of making them really bad ass. Because they need to look their part, if only for one chapter or so. Bashing of Team 7 will go down after this, but the occasional snide comment will pop up.

**No one has beta this chapter.**

* * *

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

_"She will up up in mere moments, just give her time. In the mean while, Naruto send out a clone or two to collect wood, Sasuke you can use your fire jutsu to contribute to the camp fire. She settled the girl down on the ground of a isolated cave._

_"Now." Naruto did as told and collected what was needed. Sasuke did his part, muttering a quick **Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu.**_

_A fire was lit up, shadowing the slumbering face of Sakura._

_"Let me teach you a neat trick," the clone began with a small smile as Sakura awoke, confused but soon fell into the same boat with the others. No one got left behind this time._

* * *

They assembled into a team formation, easily incorporating the clone princess into it. The group moved swiftly through the forest, using the trees as a cover in case something went wrong. When they got to the clearing they easily spotted the princess, covered in slashes and gushing blood from large wounds. She was surrounded by gruesome looking creatures, all deformed and deadly. It was time to step in or risk the princess being killed.

Team 7 kept their formation, readying themselves for the right moment to attack; an opening. Each agreed on their target, making sure to keep in mind their goal: Save the princess and complete their mission under all costs.

That however was proving to be difficult since there was just too many attacks. Each blow was delivered by a different person, all baring the headband of Sound. Keeping up with the plan and keeping formation became a troublesome task. The formation was vital to their plan, it helped cover all of the members weak spots. But even that wasn't helping Team 7, nor was it doing the original princess any good. The Konoha squad didn't have enough time to try out the new tricks the clone had taught them on behalf of Tora.

The Moon princess wasn't looking very happy as she blocked another attack, using the spare time given to her to summon another clone. She looked tired, almost worn out. Her flesh on her arms were barely visible, hidden underneath red liquid. She took a different stance, her eyes set in a glare, her lips tightly pressed together in a thin line. Tora was pissed off. And her anger showed in her calculated and controlled movements, slicing through clones, blasting through trees and crushing the bones of her enemies.

She took out a pair of kunais attached to wired strings, a cruel smile forming on her face. Her nails lengthen, her hair looked wilder, and her eyes leaked red. Tora was a demon of royal blood, and the markings on her face proved that. She walked forward, her teeth sharp as she grinned at the people who had made the dire mistake to cross her. Now they would pay.

Tora purred as she swung the kunais above her head, her eyes still set in a deadly glare. It was one thing to cross a female or a ninja at that. But this was a Tsuki (Moon) female ninja they had screwed with, and a demon princess at that. A lethal combination.

Orochimaru's experiments went in for another attack, barely coming in contact with their target thanks to the swinging kunais. They watched as Tora transferred some of her chakra into her weapon, making the kunais sharper. She put the wire behind her(1), the kunais now on either side of her body. The experiments took this as an opening, only to regret the action mere seconds later. The kunais were once again swinging and twirling in her grasp, moving in rhythm with her movements. She was dancing, in a very seductive manner, with a pouty look on her face.

Team 7 took their chance while the beasts backs were turned. They managed to do some damage before having to retreat. Tora grinned, forcing the wires to set on fire before swinging them in an almost wild manner. The weapon tore through limbs and burned flesh. It even wrapped around the neck of the largest of the deformed experiments, slicing right through it with a simple tug.

The princess' remaining clone helped the tired Team 7 take care of the weaker ones, who looked lost without their leader. When everything was disposed of, the Konoha nins looked at the princess as her clone popped out of existence. She was covered in blood, which was starting to cake up upon her flesh. Her face was smeared with the red liquid, her expression unreadable. Then she began to walk, her eyes downcast with anger as she approached them.

"Thank you," she said stiffly. The other ninjas nodded and thanked her in return, but she just shrugged off their thanks and glared at a random spot.

"He's gone," she grunted out, her blue eyes causing the tree Orochimaru should have been merged to, to burn and turn to ashes. Tora approached the spot, ignoring the fearful and curious eyes that followed her. She stood near the pile of ashes and with a snap of her fingers, the ash turned back to a tree. Looking at it as if it were never burned down, still baring fruit. The princess plucked the fruit it had and took a bite of an apple. She turned around, glaring at the small group.

"Have you heard from the others?" Kakashi shook his head, his hand on top of Sakura's head. She was panting heavily and her wounds had reopened to spill blood. Tora healed the group quickly after that before tending to herself. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck with them. They were her team and she was now a team member of Team 7. Her eyes adverted to the small children, well, pre-teens actually. The kids had finally gotten a taste of real shinobi life and were still trying to stay strong. Maybe this dysfunctional group could work out.

With an unhappy grin, she made another clone and sent it out to search for the others. She sat on the ground and with a snap of her fingers, her clothing changed. Instead of the blood stained and dirt covered clothing of before, she now wore more comfortable and clean fabric. All black. The only thing unchanged were her shinobi foot wear, still covered in blood. Her eyes scanned the others and with another snap of her fingers, their clothing had changed.

The four that stood before her looked entirely different with a simple change of clothes. Kakashi looked intimidating, Sakura looked crazy, Sasuke looked dark and Naruto looked subdued, almost tamed. Tora grinned at her handy work, marveling at them with a clear gaze of praise. A mirror popped out of nowhere, levitating off the dirt ground, revealing how they transformed.

Sasuke, nicknamed Panther for the operation, stared at his reflection. His expression unreadable as his eyes scanned his body.

Sasuke's chest, arms, legs, knees and any other exposed flesh were covered by bandages. However, the bandages on his chest were not visible, hidden under a sleeveless black shirt that was slightly baggy around the collar, covering his collar bone. Yet it left room to show off his black choker, comfortably secured around his neck. He had on comfortable, stretchy pants that looked baggy but in reality, were not. What Sasuke loved about them, was the fact they could hide multiple weapons and scrolls thanks to hidden seals on the material. There were a few visible zippers and pockets, yet gave the illusion of being too small to be any use, except maybe to hold a few bills and spare change. His finger less gloves and ninja sandals were also black, but his gloves were secured by straps. Material for his gloves made them difficult to tear but still light enough on his hands to not be a bother. At the moment, his headband was tied around his left arm, near his shoulder since his forearms arms were covered in black reinforcing arm guards.

The only original female from Team 7, Sakura looked far different from before. She didn't give off an image of weakness but one of strength, just the way a female kunoichi should look like.

Her long pink hair was tied in two high pigtails, her headband tied around her neck. The cloth around it was now black instead of blue in order not to clash with her outfit. She had bandages that went above her knees, but most were covered up by knee high shinobi boots. They too were black, barely made a sound as she moved around, making her feel weightless.

Her shoes were resistant to harsh weathers, adjusting to the temperature around her, in order not to overheat or over cool her body.

Her hands were covered in fishnet gloves, the thin material covered by similar gloves that Sasuke wore: finger less, light and a snug fit. Though they too were black, her gloves had a few pockets Sasuke's did not have. They were useful for hiding small weapons, poisons or medicine. She had on black shorts with hidden pockets and zippers, which were covered by a pink skirt. Her top was also a matching hot pink with short sleeves, a gap to show cleavage which was revealed through fishnet covering black fabric that in itself, covered the actual breasts and back into a pink shirt.

Bunny, otherwise known as Sakura, like all other members of the team, had black reinforcing arm guards on her forearms. And like all the others, she had a weapon pouch on her hip for easy access.

Tora mused that the color might be a little too bright, but if they wished, they could change the colors or even style of the outfit, on a whim. But she decided to keep that bit of information to herself. She looked towards Naruto, who was quiet with little expression escaping his mask. Then a small and fleeting smile appeared on his scarred face.

When choosing Naruto's outfit, Tora had went through a surprising amount of possibilities but she was still unhappy with the end result. Naruto aka Fox for obvious reasons, looked quite tamed and that itself felt wrong. It felt as if he should be able to pop out, safely of course since he was a ninja.

He wore his headband proudly around his right arm, instead of tying it around his forehead. His lithe body was covered entirely (chest, arms, legs/thighs, feet, fingers) in bandages, and outlined his lightly muscled body which had been hidden under that terribly heavy coat of his. Those bandages were covered under a fishnet shirt and on top of that was a sleeveless vest like coat that reached his knees. It had multiple pockets, for hiding weapons and scrolls, and made up of fire resistant material and had a high collar that seemed to be outlined with gold and was connected to a hoddie. Long black pants were tucked into black ninja boots, which sole had a blade that could easily be retracted from it for stabbing. His finger less gloves had hidden pockets like Sakura's and his black shin guards covered his bandaged arms.

She mused the outfit was good enough and scolded herself for worrying over something as simple as _clothes_.

Kakashi, aka Crow, was dressed entirely in black. The only splash on color on him was a gray scarf wrapped around his neck, that had a design of some kind outlined in dark gray. His signature mask was still in place, shrouding his face in mystery, and the headband that hid his eye was of no help to unraveling that mystery. His chest was covered in some kind of black material that clung to his body, sticking like a second skin, tight but not restraining. His pants were made of the same material, yet they were looser and looked shredded on the bottom. The black material he was wearing absorbed sweat and could resist heat for long periods of time. His standard shinobi shoes were made of a similar material with a few additions that the princess would let him find on his own. The black gloves on his hands were similar to Sasuke's.

Once again, Tora smiled at her handy work before bringing the group closer to reevaluate their plan. Things had changed and they had to change their tactic to survive. Adapting was an important element to this war between Team 7 and the Sound nins.

And they needed to win, badly.

-(!)-

Orochimaru smirked, yellow eyes scanning the area with amusement. Any moment now his servants were due. They would come into the clearing, ready to continue on with his master plan that needed to be tweaked thanks to those meddling kids. But it was just a minor setback, a stepping stone towards his goal.

But his smirk soon fell when he noticed a significant fall in numbers of servants. He frowned, calculating his next move and simply smirked again. It didn't matter how many servants he had at this point, he could always make more experiments. It only mattered that he was a dozen steps ahead of those brats. His smirk grew when a successful experiment approached him, covered in blood and barely wounded, just the way he liked to see them. Its face cracked a smile, thin blue lips upturned at the corner, revealing sharp teeth. A raspy voice spoke, sounding more like a banshee screech than anything else.

"She's dead." Orochimaru cooed showcasing his sadistic joy, but than he stopped and frowned.

"Are you sure it was her and not a mere replica?" The experiment kept its smile, giving nothing away. Its hollow black eyes just kept staring forward, looking its master in the eye, giving no hints to a lie or a mistake. The snake sannin looked at him longer, eyes lingering on his face for any facial expression betraying the boy's words. None was found but his sense of doubt would not go away. He glared at the male and quickly dismissed him.

It was a bad idea. The snake sanin seemed to have forgotten to follow his own rules. Never turn your back on those you do not trust. In a blink of an eye, a sharp object was uncovered and ready to strike and plunge itself into milky flesh. But just as fast, the attacker was surrounded by several loyal minions who plunged their own weapons into the mutants back. But the person popped out of existence and Orochimaru seethed.

He muttered several curses and got into a stance, his servants doing the same. Why is it that nothing could ever go according to plan? Then again, he knew not everything was going to go as smoothly as he wanted, especially since it involved those pesky Konoha nins. He sneered at the thought of the village that turned its back on him.

He would get his revenge and soon.

(!)

Anko glared at her wounds, hissing as she put pressure on the cut on her side. Her eyes scanned the area through the leaves, careful not to make a sound. She didn't understand how they got to this point. It had all happened so fast and now they were forced to play catch with a group of crazed monsters. The smell of blood was ignored as she moved swiftly through the trees, knowing that is she remained in one spot, she would be found and killed.

Her eyes kept scanning the area, looking for any kind of movement that could give away the position of her enemies away. If silence had a form, she would glare at it. It was quiet. Too quiet and in the act of battle, it was a warning of worst things to come. And as she kept moving, her footsteps seemed to echo through the whole forest. She stilled and crouched when she found a better spot that hid her more fully. There was no movement and no sound. Sweat trickled down her forehead, one drop at a time and she gulped, her throat dry and begging for water. Anko breathed slowly, a weapon in her hand and her wound wrecking havoc on her body. It was just a cut, but a deep one and it was stealing the energy she needed to fight.

Apparently the Sound nins knew that too, because two of them suddenly came from above and went in for the killing blow. Anko grunted as she felt a kick damage her back and send her flying from the tree branch. The partner of the first one dived down with a sinister smirk, kunais thrown to cut into her bruised flesh. She bit her tongue as he back was assaulted.

She landed on the ground roughly. Her vision was blurred and her head ached with agony. She could barely breathe or feel her nose.

This isn't how she was going to end. She didn't even care if Kami came down from the heavens and told her she was dying. She wasn't ready to die and she wouldn't die, not on her watch. Anko slowly moved her arms, her breathing shallow and strained as she moved her body into a sitting position. She could hear laughing and she grit her teeth. They were mocking her!

"Oh look at that brother. She's raising herself from the ground. What a fool." Anko hissed, her legs threatening to give out from underneath her but she was finally able to stand. She bit back a cough, knowing that even a simple action like coughing would give them another opening.

"I know brother. If she doesn't die, why don't we take her as a new toy? I know how you like to break them," more laughing. Anko went still, knowing damn well what they were talking about. Well, they were dead wrong if they thought she was going to let them take her as a whore. She rather cut off her left arm than let that happen. She sure as hell wasn't going to take their shit, not without a fight.

* * *

(1) THINK DOUBLE DUTCH

This chapter didn't come out the way I wanted it to, but it will do.** I NEED HELP WITH WRITING ACTION! ANYONE LIKE TO HELP ME?**


	18. The Sacrifices of Broken Soldiers

**My Darkness**

**Author: Tiger159**

**I DO NOT OWN or Make money from it**

**Me: **There are many things to come, seeing as I have the urge to move this story along quickly due to my lack of updating. I am aware I am very crappy at that. Sorry, in all honesty, I know how it is like thinking the author gave up or forgotten the story, until they post up a new chapter and your hope is revived again. Then it falls into a cycle. And on more than one occasion, I had to restart the whole story to know what I'm reading. But I digress. Akatsuki will show up in future chapters, Orochimaru is important, I will shed light on the others who were assigned the mission that I apparently forgot about (Don't look at me that way!), Team 7 undergoes construction. ETC. I can't tell you everything now can I?

Suggestions are welcomed as well as beautiful reviews and the occasional concern. I am open for almost anything.

**Warning for this story: **Character Death, action (it might not be well written, that why it's a warning), bashing, CURSING, OOC, ANGST, Some HORROR, ETC.

Disclaimer: Akemiko aka Ake-chan and Tsukiko belong to living laughing dead. The other anime characters do not belong to me either. But the Yuki's do (The blond triplets and Arashi). And so does Bloody Red (Rose/Mika).

**No one has beta this chapter.**

* * *

**Recap of Last Chapter:**

_"I know brother. If she doesn't die, why don't we take her as a new toy? I know how you like to break them," more laughing. Anko went still, knowing damn well what they were talking about. Well, they were dead wrong if they thought she was going to let them take her as a whore. She rather cut off her left arm than let that happen. She sure as hell wasn't going to take their shit, not without a fight._

* * *

I still believe in man  
A wise one asked me why  
Cause I just don't believe we're wicked  
I know that we sin but I do believe we try  
We all try, the girls try, the boys try  
Women try, men try, you and I try, try, we all try

_Frank Ocean - We All Try_

**The Sacrifices of Broken Soldiers**

Tora was not a happy camper. In fact, she was so pissed off that her demon markings were showing, making her look less like her innocent facade and more like her lethal self. Her sharp gaze settled on the wounds on her arms as they burned closed, leaving puffs of smoke in their wake. She breathed in deeply and slowly, trying the best she could to calm down, but failing. The princess wished she was home, lying in the bed she shared with her lover. Instead, she had to face the reality that she was no where near the borders of her village and instead, was in a forest filled with unfamiliar dangers and killers. As a leader of a ninja village, she was always mentally prepared for a fight, planning out millions of tactics that she had drilled into the brains of her people, in the case that no one of the Royal family was there to protect them. She knew it would never come to that, or least she hoped. Better safe than sorry.

The anger was still coursing in her veins and flared at the sight of her wounded team. Each member of Team Seven had at least one mark that would leave a scar on their body. She smirked, at least the kids had earned their first battle scars. Her head turned towards Kakashi's direction, noticing the way his eyes were surveying the damage and calculating his next move.

"I hope we get out of this thing quick, my family and your village will begin to worry if we don't make it to our destination by the end of the week." Kakashi nodded at her words, lips pressing tightly together under his mask. Or at least that's what Tora thought his face was doing, the mask made things like that difficult. If she didn't already have a mask perfected, she would have bought a physical one.

"Naruto, can you stand?" The only male blond groaned, his hands gripping his sides, which were bleeding heavily. Tora didn't worry through, the demon inside of him would heal him soon. The boy stood, with as much energy as he could muster with so much pain raking through his body like merciless waves. He didn't bother speaking, so he nodded. Kakashi hoped the pain wouldn't be a hindrance.

Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed, as he thought back to the events that happened moments ago. They weren't expecting any kind of attack, at least not that soon. They had to get out of that forest soon. But to do that, they had to find the others.

His eyes found cold blue ones that belonged to a ruthless leader. He remembered the princess now, from the Bingo books from long ago. He didn't remember if she was removed, but he knew she had been in it once. People had labeled her insane since the death of her mother, but the truth was killing became her way of mourning the sudden separation from the only other human being that meant so much to her. Her mother wouldn't have been dead if Konoha hadn't gone back on their word and killed her. The sudden cruel smile that sprung on her face told him they weren't forgiven yet, if ever.

"We need to find the others and get moving. Fast." Kakashi picked up an unconscious Sakura, while the princess healed a badly injured Sasuke, before moving on to the girl in Kakashi's bleeding arms.

"As soon as Orochimaru came into play, it was no longer a battle. It became a war zone." What she said was true, but it was too late to keep dwelling on things. They had to keep moving forward, or die.

"Everyone's healed, let's go."

-(1)-

Anko licked her lips as she ran her fingers through her hair. She was painted in red, with two mangled; disfigured bodies laying beneath her feet. She didn't even want to look at them, those pale corpses were just a reminder of the near rape that she had almost been forced to go through. Her body was her sanctuary and she wasn't about to allow that.

The mark on her neck suddenly hurt, but she was far too use to the pain to acknowledge it. Instead, she breathed in deeply as she ran through the trees, in hope of finding the others. She knew it would be a difficult task not just because of the sheer size of the trees, but because they would most likely be hiding. She cursed, suddenly wishing she hadn't taken this mission. It had made no sense that a large group would be assigned to such a simple mission. It just didn't. She quieted down as she heard a noise near her, not making the mistake of thinking it was an animal. It was moments like these that meant life or death. It ended up just being an animal, but she couldn't even trust that. The animal could just be a ninja in disguise. Instead, she waited until the creature was out of view before moving from her spot. A ninja could never stay in one spot, unless they wanted to die. And as much as she hated her life, she wasn't ready to die just yet.

-(2)-

Iruka crouched on a thick branch, his ears alert for any unfamiliar sound. Not hearing anything out of place, he signaled the others to move from their hiding spot, and out the forest. They had escaped being attacked on various occasions and had been able to send out a messenger to their village. They weren't sure when help would arrive but they needed to stay strong before then. Their group had gotten smaller and smaller and now had to worry about the others. What was left of their group, which was too large in the first place, managed to reach the edge of the woods. They just had to cover a few more miles, at least, according to Iruka, that was all that was left to reach safety.

It was difficult to see pass the overgrown branches of twisted, bare trees, that shielded the bodies of unknown creatures and possible future murderers. Iruka breathed through his nose, his feet lightly pressing against the harsh bark. His eyes surveyed the area before jumping to the nearest branch, the sound of footsteps behind him, signaling that his team mates had done the same. He kept checking back behind him, making sure it was his team members and not an enemy following him.

He didn't know why he accepted to take the mission, this mission. He could have stayed teaching the children of Konoha the basics of being a ninja and how to survive when at every turn was a chance to fall to your death. But then again, that would defeat the purpose of being a ninja. A ninja took risks and did not cower in the face of danger. Instead, they followed their instincts to survive and didn't think twice about putting their lives on the line. And even if he was a school teacher, he was still a ninja under Konoha law. That meant that he would kill if need be, he would die if need be, in order to have the mission be a success.

But Iruka wasn't a heartless killer that only thought the mission came first. He cared about the mission, yes he did. And he knew a treaty was riding on it as well. But he also cared for the safety of his team members, and their survival. And he hoped against hope that they all made it back to safety in time.

If not... he didn't even want to think about it, knowing full well that everything would be lost if anyone of them died and if they failed the mission. They just needed a few days and they could return home. That was all, but it seemed like that was too much to ask. And as he kept running through the forest, the future seemed bleak and he hated that.

He hated a lot of things as of lately, one being a pervert and another being the uncertainty of their survival. The latter wasn't an unfamiliar hate, in fact, it was something he hated since he became a ninja. All shinobi knew what they were risking once they put on the uniform, once they left their civilian life behind and began a tool to their village. Every time, they risked their lives, in the name of their village. In the name of their Hokage. Because that was what they were trained to do, to protect and to kill. Kill the enemy and not get themselves killed in the process. That was why Iruka didn't hesitate to take the mission when he was given the mission scroll.

He knew what was expected of him.

And that was why he had to survive. Why they _all_ had to survive. It wasn't a choice, it wasn't an option. No, it was an order. An order they all had to carry out til the end.

-(3)-

Tora's smile, Naruto noticed, gave off a false sense of security and hope. Surely that was the only reason she was smiling at the captured person. Or should he say people? He stared at the - he wasn't sure of their gender - _two_ faces, as they hissed at the princess. In a way, Naruto wanted to laugh. It had only been two hours since their encounter with Kabuto and his master, and now the first thing they bumped into was not their teammate, but a double headed person. He was tempted to call them things, since killing off enemies was easier when you de-humanized them, but he resisted the temptation. It wasn't his first kill and it wouldn't be his last.

The blond's azure eyes scanned the area for the hundredth time, even though he knew the clearing by heart by that point. For a quick moment, he asked himself about his other teammates whereabouts and scoffed at himself. He knew they were out gathering food and wood for the camp they would soon have to set up.

"Now, I wonder... what shall I do with you?" For a moment, the princess didn't sound her age, in fact, she sounded years younger. If he had to guess her age just based on her voice, he would have guessed 5 or 7 at the most. Must be another one of her techniques at breaking her prisoners. Because, that what was Sakon and Ukon were, prisoners to be dealt with by the merciless princess of the Moon Village.

Tora barely paid their comments any mind, but seemed to pause for a brief second when they dared to call her "trash."

"You guys are so mean," she pouted, before another smile graced her blood caked face. Taking down those members of Sound Five, as they called themselves, was not easy. Sure, Sakon tried, in vain might Naruto add, to prolong the battle, but Tora quickly brought an end to them when she was forced to transform to her full demon form.

"Stupid whor-"

"If you finish that sentence, I'll cut off your tongue and shove it down your brother's throat." Tora quickly cut off with a glare. With her facade gone, she released as much killing intent as she needed, which wasn't much since she had failed to return to her human form. She hummed in amusement, taking out a small sword, the size of her forearm.

"I'll have fun scalping you."

-(4)-

Sarutobi paced in his office, hand pulling slightly on his beard, eyes glaring at the floor as if it were the source of his problems. Oh how he wished it was! It would have been easier to deal with the wooden panels than a crisis like the one presented to him. Taking his pipe off his file covered desk, he began to take long, deep puffs, filling his vision with bursts of smoke. With the smell of tobacco fresh in his nose, he started to pace harder. Damn, sometimes he hated being Hokage.

"Yamato," he ordered his secretary to get. Moments later, the man had appeared before him, having been in the tower for a new mission.

"You are no longer needed for the mission you were to be sent on. I need you for something far more important... and dangerous."

-(5)-

"Death, death to all of them. Death to all who stand in my way," she muttered to herself, hands dipping into a broken skull of the Siamese twins. With a twisted grin, her hands glowed blue, claws digging into an exposed brain. With a flick of her wrist, she extracted their memories. Naruto couldn't understand how she could do that without a jutsu, but he brushed it off as one of the many things to ask the princess about at a later date - preferably when they were out of the danger zone.

With a sigh, he took a sip from his canteen before passing it on to an exhausted Sakura-chan. The princess had taken the liberty of teaching her some healing techniques and it seemed to have drained Sakura of her energy. He pitied her. Her face was now flushed a dull pink that spread from the base of her neck to her ears and cheeks. A wide forehead was covered in sweat, causing pink strands to stick to flesh. He watched as she gulped down a generous amount of water before passing it onto a bored Sasuke.

His blue eyes turned back to the now still princess, who stood with a faraway look in her eyes. She had changed her outfit once again, in order to get rid of the blood that had covered her previous one. However, there was still blood splattered across her cheeks from her encounter from the dead twins, their cadavers laying limp and empty on the forest floor. It was entertaining to see her squash them with mere flicks of her wrists and fingers, something he too would like to do. And he found it extremely entertaining when she drew up her sword and scalped them, layer by layer. Of course, he didn't dare show his glee, knowing it wouldn't come off too well with the others.

Tora turned to the small group, minus an absent Kakashi, with a whimsical grin. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could burn this entire forest down and kill all the bitches who want us dead?" They stared at her, long and hard, waiting for her to laugh the comment off and say it was a joke. Instead, she hummed a little tune and gathered her things and the others were left to wonder if she was sane. But thinking back to all the things she said and done since they met her, they concluded that no, she wasn't sane. She was batshit crazy and perfectly good at hiding it from those she wanted to fool.

"Too bad that idea would get all the animals killed," she added later on, a faraway look in her eyes as she attached her sword to her outfit.

"Let's get moving. I feel that we will encounter the others soon." The others could be anyone. It could be their enemies lurking in the shadows of the forest or the animals awaiting their next meal. They wished the others meant their friends, their comrades, but they had more of a chance encountering people and things that put their lives in danger. With a nod, they set off in Kakashi's direction.

They found Iruka. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, a wounded arm gushing red liquid and lips tightly pressed together. He wasn't dead as Naruto had feared, but he would have been if Tora and Sakura had not gotten down to work. They had healed him in record time, with the princess fixing some of Sakura's mistakes that could have left some permanent damage to his body.

"Iruka, where are the others?" Iruka had taken a few deep breaths, it had been a long time since he was close to death. With a gulp, he whispered, "Further up west, 5 miles." The Moon royal nodded before creating a clone to send off in that direction. She advised Naruto to do the same.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

"I don't remember much, just flashes of a flute and yelling." Naruto's eyes narrowed, his brain working at a rapid pace. He had a memory, a brief one, of a conversation about a girl who played a flute and had red hair. She was lethal and she was from Sound. He didn't remember who was talking with who or her name, but he knew she was nothing but trouble if he was correct. He grunted and looked away from his previous sensei and wondered where his current one could be.

-(6)-

Anko grunted as she made her way through the forest, doing her test to avoid branches and wandering animals. She had found a stream not too long ago and had used it to quench her thirst and clean her hands of blood. Even with the color gone from her hands, the blood still stained her soul. She snorted, now was not the time to think of such things.

The snake mistress sat down at the base of the tree, well hidden from prying eyes due to the overgrown roots that sprawled in all directions. She looked through her gear and stopped at a scroll, a sudden memory jumping to the front of her brain. How could she have forgotten about that?

With restrained anger, she took out the scroll and bit into her finger before swiping over the seal. Once opened, a double edged sword was revealed, along with the small booklet that had accompanied it.

"And to think this could have come in handy," she grunted. Chakra surged through her palm, a familiar sensation that tingled her fingertips. The chakra consumed the sword and she thought hard of how she wanted it to look like. Well, that's what the booklet said she had to do: _"Envision how you would like the sword to look like. The possibilities are based on your imagination, making the number of transformations of this weapon endless. Just push chakra into it and watch the change unfold before you."_

Just for kicks, she thought of the sword transforming to a six bladed knuckle buster. She had seen Asuma try it on out of boredom and ended up liking them. Of course he didn't buy them seeing as adding chakra to any ordinary knuckle buster would sharpen it. She smirked darkly as the sword did as the book promised.

Oh, this would be fun.

-(7)-

Okay, Naruto was getting tired of it. All of it, down to the random attacks from anything that breathes. Down to the dirt and blood caked up on his entire body and in uncomfortable places that he really didn't want to think about. He glanced at the people around them, a red headed bitch with a flute and a chubby dude who hadn't said one word once so ever. Did he ever mention he hated silence? And because he was tied up to a tree stump no less, his weapons were useless and his body was immobile. And yes, he admitted they were smart to bind his mouth, but did they really have to use wire?

His mouth was still sore, blood still dripping and pure agony ripping through him when he even made a sound. Damn, it hurt like a fucking bitch. He looked to his right, where Sakura laid, unconscious with a possible concussion. On his left, was a rebelling Sasuke, pulling on his restraints, seeing as his limbs were tied to each other and not a fucking tree. Why did he get to be in a bark free zone? The damn trunk of the tree was digging into his neck and biting into his flesh. He was sure he was bleeding, the wetness trailing down his skin could attest to that.

At least Iruka had been able to escape with an angry princess. She wasn't one to abandon her comrades, especially in situations like these, but she was more useful gathering the others and just plain staying alive.

Kakashi was still a no show and no one knew where he went. He tried his best to push the panic and the bile that accompanied, down to the pit of his stomach. He no longer knew what to do, but he knew panicking got him nowhere. All he was ever good for was being reckless and unpredictable. But even his overly creative mind could not be put to good use if his limbs were tied at an odd angle, under the watchful eye of an overgrown oaf.

Fuck.

Naruto couldn't help but grit his teeth, eyes surveying the area. All he could see beyond the field he was in, was trees, just like the one he was tied to.

"Jirobo, keep watch, I'll be back," the red haired girl said before departing. Naruto watched her figure blend in with the darkness of the woods. Oh, how he hated her already. She had been the one to stitch his lips together while the big oaf watching them held him down. She was the one that told Jirobo to knock him unconscious while he was being tied. It was her fault that they were in the very clearing they were at.

Stupid bitch.

With her gone, Jirobo turned to them with a smirk. He wasn't a pretty sight, Naruto concluded, not with that weird hairstyle and those clothes. Like seriously, did Orochimaru have a fetish for over sized purple rope? It sure looked like he did.

"Hi loser," Naruto's eyes snapped up at the familiar nickname. Sasuke still called him that on occasion and the other village kids still hissed that when he was in hearing range. He frowned, eyes glaring at the standing male.

"Just wait til Orochimaru-sama gets a hand on you guys, he'll rip you a new one," the oaf had the balls to laugh, as if he said something funny.

Sasuke sneered from his spot on the ground, dirt sticking to his face and blood leaking from the friction of the restraints on his flesh. Jirobo just laughed harder as Sasuke began to struggle again, wincing when the wires cut deeper into exposed flesh. With a grin, the sound nin walked over to the brunette and kicked him in the stomach. Naruto watched, helplessly, as his friend bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain. Another kick to the chest and he heard the cracking of bones. Damn, that must hurt.

Growing up, the blond had his share of pain. He had several bones cracked and re-cracked, infected wounds, twisted limbs and internal bleeding. He suffered from other things too, such as acid burns and punctured lungs, but now was not the time for that. The point was, he knew what he was going through and he pitied Sasuke, but this was life. This was the experience of being a Shinobi.

Naruto bit his own lip and let his eyes fall on Sakura's form. She was still knocked out, oblivious to the situation. Another nin, a short brunette with six arms -six!- had been the one to render her unconscious, something that had caused him relief. If it had been Jirobo, she would had surely suffered from a concussion or even worse, internal bleeding of the brain, resulting in death. The rising of her chest assured him that she was still very well alive. He sighed and turned his attention back to Jirobo. The oaf had left Sasuke alone after two kicks and now was marching toward him.

Great.

"Hi loser," Jirobo had a shit eating grin on his face. Naruto knew this was not going to be a good conversation.

"You know, Tayuya never said I couldn't have some fun while she was gone." His grin only grew and Naruto confirmed his earlier thought, yep, not a good conversation at all.

"In fact, I think I'll have some fun right now." A fist connected with his stomach and he screamed behind closed lips, pain rushing though his body. The next punch was to his jaw and he heard an audible crack, his teeth connecting with one another. His lips tried to part without his permission and he groaned louder, feeling tears about to fall from his eyes. It hurt like a bitch.

The standing male laughed, a harsh sound to his sensitive ears and he wished that he could just_ hurt_ him. Hurt him to the point he was begging _him_ for mercy. He growled, a deep feral sound that only caused the Sound nin to laugh louder. Naruto felt his nose flare before another wave of pain hit him. This time the pain was different, it caused his muscles to ache and his feet to curl as red consumed him. It consumed his eyes and his body and his soul and turned everything he saw and felt red. The pain surging through his body was ignored, even as his nails and the marks on his face grew longer and darker. His hair was still the same blond shade, only more untamed. He looked wilder overall, with his red silted eyes and sharp canines, once the wires on his mouth were ripped, the wounds they left burned close at once.

The wires holding him to the tree suffered the same fate.

During that time Jirobo had taken several steps back, an expression between shock and horror on his face, a stark contrast from his arrogant grin and smirk. His screams would be music to his ears when he rips him to shred, Naruto would make sure of it.

He stepped slowly to the bigger boy, eyes locked onto his unmoving form. Suddenly, Jirobo lurched forward, a fist raised and ready to connect with _his _body. Naruto moved quickly, causing the fist to connect with the tree trunk he was once tied to. He heard it crack behind him and moved out the way when he saw another fist come his way. The jabs and kicks came quick, but they all missed. It was Naruto's left fist that connected with a jaw, payback for the earlier incident. But he didn't stop there, the punch to the jaw was just the beginning.

He kept hitting.

He kept punching and kicking, his fist punching everywhere. At one point the Sound nin had managed to escape his grasp, but that was soon remedied. The next time he got his hands on him, his claws were ripping into flesh.

A low whisper of "Naruto?" was the only thing that gave him pause, his red eyes sliding over to a frightened and very much awake Sakura. He growled and would have attacked her too if Jirobo had not jumped away from him when given the chance. When his eyes landed on the male, his skin was turning a strange shade and his hair was growing at a fast pace. There were strange lines crawling over his body and face, reminding the blond of chains. The guy's eyes had changed as well, it went from a scarlet orange to a yellow almost golden shade. Briefly, Naruto wondered if he had a demon as well...

But that thought was erased as Jirobo explained that his master had given him power, _them _power and that he, Naruto, was going to die because of what he did to him. The Konoha nin growled, the sound as feral as before. He didn't bother to talk, to correct the fool and tell him that he was the one whose blood would be shed.

Naruto flexed his hands, claws itching to spill blood. A punch, so fierce and powerful, connected with his stomach. It knocked the wind out of his body and caused him to go flying high into the air. Jirobo wasted no time and dropped kicked him from above. Naruto landed on the ground with a loud sound, causing birds to fly away from their perch on near by trees. Sakura made a gasping sound. "Naruto!" She screamed after several moments passed and the smoke of dirt from Naruto's fall had cleared. Sasuke had remained silent on the ground, limbs still bond and mouth in a tight firm line.

With a smirk, Jirobo walked towards Naruto's limp form and hunched over him. "A loser, just like I predicted. Couldn't defeat me, even if you wanted to. I don't even see _how _you made Shinobi and if this is the best Konoha has to offer, then I guess it'll be easier to take over then expected." His smirk grew when there was no reply. He turned around and set his sights on Sakura, who was in the process of cutting the wires on Sasuke's arms. "I don't think so." He stepped forward.

A sound was heard behind him and he turned. When no movement was made from the unconscious - even possibly dead - body, he hunched over to get a closer look. Suddenly, the body before him popped and the ground crumbled. The fist caught him by surprise and sent him soaring through the air. Quickly, his hands formed signs, and the next thing Naruto knew, a shouted "Doton: Land Wall Flip" was blocking his attacks.

A Tackle Charge was the next thing used to knock him off his feet. A boulder was thrown at him and he barely had time to dodge it. Jirobo had dashed toward him, before thrusting his open palm and hitting him straight in the chest.

Fuck! That hurt.

"How you like my Rising Impact Palm blondie?"" Naruto could only cough into his hand. This was going to be a long battle.

-(8)-

"What the fuck? We have to go back!" Tora yelled, one hand fisted, the other in Iruka's firm grip. The man ignored her and she scoffed. How dare he ignore her? She didn't know how it worked in Konoha, but in Tsuki, they didn't abandon comrades, even if it meant failing the mission. It seemed that all of Konoha's pride in teaching that no comrade gets left behind was just a hoax to impress.

With hard eyes, she ripped her hand out of a tan palm, lips ready with an insult. Iruka turned to her, brown eyes cold and lips in a sneer.

"You think I want to leave them there? You think I'm proud to have to leave my old students and comrades in the field, possibly to die?"

No response.

"Do you?" He snorted after a moment of silence, eyes looking away before landing on an object Tora didn't care to see.

"We had no choice but to leave. I'm not proud to have to walk away from a battle, but what use are to we to them dead? Tora, we left to get help, to formulate a plan, to find the others. But we did not leave because we wanted to. We did not leave because I wanted to see children die on the field of battle. We did _not_ leave without a reason, a purpose and having to explain this to you, is insulting to me. You are a princess, you should know as well as anyone that sacrifices have to be made as well as choices that we never want to consider. You have to take a chance and I am taking a chance. I am taking a chance because I don't know if they will still be alive or even in that field when we come back with reinforcements... Do you understand why now?"

Tora nodded, body stiff and hands tightly fisted together to the point that her nails tore into skin.

"Good, now let's get a move on. We wasted enough time as it is."

-(9)-

"I know how to locate them."

Iruka's eyes snapped to the once silent princess, resisting the urge to glare at her. Why couldn't she have said that earlier?

"I didn't say anything earlier because I was focusing my time on training the children while I had the chance." Well that answered his question. His pace faltered before it stopped all together. Iruka turned to her and asked her to go on and explain how she could make their mission easier.

"Before my mother's death, she had a friend of hers teach me to sense chakra signatures. Though most people can do it, the one I was taught requires chakra control and is a bit _different. _The best way that I can explain it is that I have to quiet my chakra, which in turn makes it tense but not active. This causes my awareness to heighten, because my sensitivity to chakra increases which has the added benefit of allowing me to sense people, animals, plants, and most especially, jutsu when they're being used."

"Then do it," Iruka urged her. They needed to find Anko and the others as soon as possible, if only for the children's sake.

* * *

Underlined Words: Words and phrases and ideas used and taken from other fics. This is where I can give them proper credit. They are organized by the order the underlined lines pop up. Note, not all fics named have to do with Naruto, yaoi or the likes. Thanks for reading :)

1. Ryu nodded, then took a deep breath, almost in preparation for what he was about to show them. Then he slumped and shrugged as he told them, "Well, actually, I wasn't taught a chakra control exercise. My family did finally teach me how to sense chakra signatures though, although my dad said that it was a bit different than the way most other people do it. Surprisingly though, it does require some actual chakra control to do it."

~**Team One** by **Joshua the Evil Guy**. Chapter 2, Naruto Fic. Action and Humor. Rated: T~

2. Ryu shook his head, then hesitated and nodded sheepishly, before hesitating again, finally he just shrugged. "I'm really not sure. My dad just told me that I had to sort of quiet my chakra flow, which then makes it tense, but not active. He worked with me until he said I had it, although I'm not sure how I'm going to teach Kasumi and Naruto how to do it..."

~**Team One** by **Joshua the Evil Guy**. Chapter 2, Naruto Fic. Action and Humor. Rated: T~

3. "It... it's hard to explain, Naruto," Kasumi slowly explained. "But using the basic theory, what Ryu just showed us, well, it increases your awareness roughly tenfold! By forcing your chakra to still itself, it creates a sort of... hypertension along your chakra network. Naruto, have you ever seen a wire when it's drawn tight?"

~**Team One** by **Joshua the Evil Guy**. Chapter 2, Naruto Fic. Action and Humor. Rated: T~

4. "When it's done to your chakra instead of just your body, however," Kasumi finished, "your sensitivity to chakra is increased, which has the added benefit of allowing you to sense people, animals, plants, and most especially, jutsu when they're being used."

~**Team One** by **Joshua the Evil Guy**. Chapter 2, Naruto Fic. Action and Humor. Rated: T~


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